Robeson Street

By Fanny Howe

Fanny Howe, acclaimed poet and winner the 2001 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, explores the fears and freedoms of single motherhood in this newly reprinted collection, featuring cover art by her son, Maceo Senna.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alice James Books
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781948579841

Fanny Howe

Fanny Howe is the author of more than twenty books of poetry and prose. She has taught literature and writing for many years. She is currently Professor Emerita in Literature at the University of California at San Diego. She has mentored a generation of American poets, activists and scholars working at the intersection of experimental and metaphysical forms of thinking.

Book preview

ROBESON STREET

The moon is moving away

As civilization advances without thought

For the consequences

Scattered snow showers put fine purfling

Around the edges of the lot

If I handle routines, I’ll dream longer

Since the concord I long for

Is like not being alive but finished

Moonlight at a fountain

For extra cash and you won’t see one ideology

Funnel the soda

But continued actions will improve your looks

You whose last customer was Disappointment

After I’m done with it, the counter’s

got a lovely brown finish

Solitary, I set up a night fork

And face the materials

On Robeson Street, the red oak