{"product_id":"familiar-history-paperback","title":"Familiar History - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGuiseppe Getto\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the words of the always-incisive Corrinne Cleggs Hales, \u003cem\u003eFamiliar History\u003c\/em\u003e \"expertly de-romanticizes the landscape and mythology of the American west, revealing a world defined largely by struggle and failure and broken lives.\" The poems in these pages take an unflinching look at rural life in the Desert Southwest and reveal a world composed of harshly beautiful scenery, as reflected in the poem \"Burning Wishes\" \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSomeone said they never saw a wild thing \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003esorry for itself. Me neither, but it seemed sometimes \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003elike they ought to be. The bark beetles that crunch \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ein and out of their white fir tunnels\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eand branch outward until each thorax, leg, \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eand instinct intersects, becoming a web \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003emeaning nothing.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA cold snap couples indeterminately with wind velocity \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eand the fracture lines of ice particles, killing only incidentally.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe message is clear: in the universe of these poems, nature doesn't care about you or the meaning you give it.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe book also reveals the child abuse, violence, racism, and poverty endemic to much of this region through the eyes of someone who spent nearly 30 years there. In the title poem, the narrator speaks directly to this relationship between the memories carried in human bodies and those held by the landscapes they inhabit: \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eI will learn to seal everything up inside.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe all will. In 1969 the desert will swallow\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ean atom bomb whole. In 1969 \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003emy grandmother's pancreas will swallow \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003etoo much of the awful light from a safe distance \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003einside a bus. After awhile you begin \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eto realize light in the desert can penetrate \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eanything. A 1951 description \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eof the Nevada Test Site, included in an Army brochure \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003efor the Camp Desert Rock soldiers, \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003etells them that the desert is a damned good place \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003efor disposing of used razor blades. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt is.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFamiliar History\u003c\/em\u003e is equal parts a lyrical reflection on the relationship between humanity and the natural environment and a deeply personal revelation of the secrets of a family of malcontents. The narrator's story is the story of rural America: a bitter tonic of regret, euphoria, and the search for salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 42\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.1 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 14, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46247107231941,"sku":"9781635340433","price":29.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/6718\/5605\/files\/GU58Dh8Li49781635340433.webp?v=1779242379","url":"https:\/\/selloorium.com\/products\/familiar-history-paperback","provider":"Selloorium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}