August 8, 2004
Ebony
Soul Dance
Dance as a metaphor for life is not a new theme. However, in AMERICAN SMOOTH (W.W. Norton, $ 22.95), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rita Dove, the former U.S. poet laureate, takes it to a new level to explore our cultural heritage in her first new collection of poetry in five years. Dove's poems cover the waterfront -- from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail, from paradise lost to angel-food cake to the Black jazz band in World War I whose music conquered Europe before the Allied advance. Like the ballroom-dancing couple of the title poem, smiling and making the intricate steps seem effortless, Dove explores the shifting surfaces between perception and reality. And for a new generation rediscovering couple dancing, as seen with the current national fascination with Chicago-style Stepping and Detroit-style Ballroom dance, Dove's masterful collection spotlights the grace and beauty of moving in tandem while highlighting the power of individual expression and improvisation.
Ebony
Soul Dance
Dance as a metaphor for life is not a new theme. However, in AMERICAN SMOOTH (W.W. Norton, $ 22.95), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rita Dove, the former U.S. poet laureate, takes it to a new level to explore our cultural heritage in her first new collection of poetry in five years. Dove's poems cover the waterfront -- from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail, from paradise lost to angel-food cake to the Black jazz band in World War I whose music conquered Europe before the Allied advance. Like the ballroom-dancing couple of the title poem, smiling and making the intricate steps seem effortless, Dove explores the shifting surfaces between perception and reality. And for a new generation rediscovering couple dancing, as seen with the current national fascination with Chicago-style Stepping and Detroit-style Ballroom dance, Dove's masterful collection spotlights the grace and beauty of moving in tandem while highlighting the power of individual expression and improvisation.
