The Hummingbird Sometimes Flies Backwards: Winners of the Proverse Prize No. 18 - D. J. Hamilton - Bookniverse
The Hummingbird Sometimes Flies Backwards: Winners of the Proverse Prize No. 18
D. J. Hamilton
US $14.39
US $17.99
2019/11
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9789888833108
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PDF
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Proverse Hong Kong
copyAbout this book
View more文學 > 世界文學
A wide-ranging collection of poems on varied subjects and in different voices by the American poet, D. J. Hamilton. The poems are drawn primarily from his years spent in Mexico and Central America, as well as the country of his birth.
The characters and voices of the poems in Hummingbird range across time and distance, from Wisconsin farms to Mexico, from Eve to Ezra Pound, from innocent young lovers to guilty priests and Greek myths to current conflicts. The poems vary in tone from contemplative to comical, and hopeful to heartbreaking. There are poems of intellectual and philosophical questioning, love poems, poems that grieve for the dead, and poems that rage at injustice and the abuse of power. The poems show a variety of poetic influences including Modernism, Organic Form, Imagism, and the idea of the line as a unit of perception, Many poems are written about characters, or in the voices of characters, sometimes multiple characters and dialogue. There is also a great variety of topics and themes: Wonder and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world; the nature of time; the nature of language; political oppression; romantic and sensual love – often as a vehicle for self-discovery. The poems are not arranged chronologically. The sudden shifts of tone, the many different topics and themes, and the seeming contradiction of very different types of poems are all deliberate choices. This book, like life itself, doesn’t follow a straight line, but zigzags there and here, with unforeseen twists and turns, abrupt reversals, and inevitable returns. Like a hummingbird.
—Michael Daley, founder of Empty Bowl, author of True Heresies.
“Profound, passionate and knowing…this remarkable collection takes the reader on a compelling journey of the imagination, transcending time and space.
About the author(s)
View moreD. J. Hamilton
D.J. Hamilton grew up in a farming village of 400 people near Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Public school teachers first encouraged his passions for writing poems and creating theatre.
Hamilton’s poems appear in a handful of publications including: Ofi Press; Repentino; Dalmoma, Firecrackers, Bumbershoot Anthology, Compages, and others. He has won local awards for his poetry, and plays, and a New York Fringe Festival award for his theatre directing.
Previously he lived in Port Townsend, Washington; home to many artists, writers, small presses, and the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. In Port Townsend he first became interested in classical Chinese poetry, Buddhism, and Taoism. Here he also first heard some of the writers and translators who would influence him: Denise Levertov, Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Galway Kinnell, Arthur Sze, Paul Hansen and Red Pine. The writers and publishers of Empty Bowl and Copper Canyon Press, in particular became friends and mentors. Returning to Seattle he founded Theatre Babylon, a small alternative theatre company focused on new plays. He has acted and/or directed plays in Canada, Europe, Mexico, New York and other US cities. In 2004, he moved to Mexico began his teaching in International Schools in Mexico. He now lives in Hong Kong with his wife, the teacher and psychologist, Montserrat Salazar.
About the publisher
View moreProverse publishes internationally from Hong Kong mainly high quality literary and general titles (novels, novellas, single author short story and poetry collections, poetry anthologies, biography and autobiography), also some travel, sport, young author, mixed genre, educational and academic works, and edited historical source materials. Proverse authors include local and international authors, native speakers of English as well as non-native speakers. Topics and settings vary between local and international. Publication modes are paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook. Most books are in the English language, including translations into English. A number are in Chinese, and a couple in Italian, a few are bilingual (English/Chinese; English/Italian). Several titles received publication support from Hong Kong Arts Development Council and other cultural bodies in Hong Kong and elsewhere.In 2008, Proverse established theannual international Proverse Prize for unpublished book-length non-fiction, fiction or poetry submitted in English. In 2016, Proverse launched theannual international Proverse Poetry Prize for a single poem submitted in English. Both prizes open for entries no later than 7 May each year (closing date 30 June). Entries to both prizes are invited from anywhere in the world and are open to all over eighteen years old, whatever their nationality, residence or citizenship. Writers and poets from Hong Kong and many countries in the world participate. Winners have been both local and international.Beginning in 2009 and continuing, Proverse organises in central Hong Kong a Spring and an Autumn literary event, open to the public. In recent years, a parallel event, available internationally, is shown on Youtube.Of the titles published by Proverse, several have attracted a Preface or advance appreciation from figures of international reputation. Two Proverse authors have been best sellers, one (Peter Gregoire) in Hong Kong and the other (Nicholas Binge) in Spain.Further informationWebsite: htt[s://www.proversepublishing.comGillian Bickley, ‘The Proverse Prize, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Vol 59, 2023 Issue 1. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TKVG8HZSZWX6R4CUJUKM/full?target=10.1080/17449855.2022.2101653Proverse titles page:https://cup.cuhk.edu.hk/ProversehkProverse Autumn Reception 2022 video (3rd edit): https://youtu.be/9L0L0AY6NGQProverse Youtube channel: youtube.com/@ProversePublishing
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