Lunatic

by Crystal Williams

Overview

Crystal Williams’ new collection, Lunatic, courageously roots out the underbelly of the human condition with humor, irony, and unflinching directness. Williams confronts large-scale social and cultural events such as September 11, the death of Amadou Diallo, and the Chicago Race Riots in addition to exploring the often paralyzing terrain of loss, desire, and displacement. Among its most common themes is personal responsibility. The interpretation of personal narratives affects not only the self, Williams insists, but reverberates with epic consequences in the wider world. Pointing to James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, Williams questions the dark side of human experience with clarity, compassion, and even laughter. Ultimately, Lunatic explores how the public and private converge and how we can each reach, boldly, for reconciliation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870136429
Publisher:	Michigan State University Press
Publication date:	11/30/2002
Pages:	69
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Crystal Williams is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. She is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and author of Kin and Lunatic. Her poetry appears in magazines such as Luna, Fourth River, Callaloo, The Indiana Review, and in the anthologies: American Poetry: The Next Generation, Poetry Nation, Sweet Jesus, and Beyond the Frontier, among others. Her essays can be found in publications including Ms. Magazine. She has been a featured reader at venues across the country including: The National Arts Club, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Sarah Lawrence College. 

Table of Contents

Part 1
	Poem for Rosa	5
	Friendly's	6
	This Side of the Water	7
	On Cops & Color	9
	On Being a Good Minority: A Riff	12
	The Shackle vs. The Chamber	14
	South Carolina: Tour, Boone Hall Plantation, 1999	15
	The Others	17
	Tour for Troubled Youths: L.A. Morgue	18
	911	19
	The Hats	20
	In Search of an American Language (or, After Being Accused of "Coding")	21
	Miscommunication	23
	You	25
	Sculpture 101	26
	Landscapes	27
	On the Collection of Ethnic Memorabilia	29
	To Chloe from Crystal, with Love	31
Part 2
	Home Sick	35
	Home	36
	Thirty	37
	From the Hospital, Hood	38
	Bridge	39
	Fumes	40
	Afterword	41
	Benediction	42
	On Love & Solitude	43
	Still	44
	Body Politic	45
	"U're Looking More & More Like a Comic Book Hero"	46
	According to Kelli Fox	47
	The Jenlee Chronicles
	"The Rules"	48
	Dowser	49
	High School Diary Entry #1	50
	Sweet	52
	The Quan Chronicles
	Desire	53
	Faith	54
	Crushed	55
	Hope	56
	The Shoes	57
	The Conversation	58
	Grossroad	59
	To Do	60
	The Ex-Boyfriend	61
Part 3
	The Story Goes	65
	Acknowledgments	69