{"product_id":"nelson-marilyn-the-boley-pb","title":"[12\/09\/26] Nelson, Marilyn: The Boley Rodeo","description":"\u003cp\u003eLSU Press, paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublication Date: December 9, 2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublisher Marketing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePowerful, beautiful, and often deceptively simple, the poetry of Marilyn Nelson takes a polyphonic approach to rendering American lives of the past, present, and beyond. Voices speak from varied times and places, while the sound that results is that of a full-throated choir telling often-forgotten truths about human existence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCollecting poems written since 2008, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Boley Rodeo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e features seven sections that capture the range of Nelson's artistry, from historical ruminations on grace and endurance to celebrations of artistic vocation and spirited flights of imagination: Sketches describing the annual Boley Rodeo, the nation's oldest all-Black rodeo, held in her mother's hometown. Excavations of the history of a Congregational church in Old Lyme, Connecticut, some of whose parishioners were slaveholders. Speculative fictions in which a young girl communes with the ghost of an enslaved person from the eighteenth century. Autobiographical pieces evoking a childhood spent moving between air force bases and searching for purpose and certainty while discovering a love of literature. Persona poems speaking in the voices of women artists from throughout history, followed by a sequence on the life and achievements of the Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage. And, finally, tales of adventure and intrigue starring the monk Abba Jacob, a familiar figure from Nelson's earlier books, based loosely on a real-life friend and hermit, now recast as the hero of an international mystery thriller.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Boley Rodeo,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNelson provides further proof of the deep humanism, historical acumen, laugh-out-loud humor, and honest directness that have characterized her writing over the past five decades. It is a work of great emotion and consummate craft.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45195764891671,"sku":"9780807187265","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0004\/6497\/7956\/files\/81YKahltK-L._SL1500.jpg?v=1782071917","url":"https:\/\/open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com\/products\/nelson-marilyn-the-boley-pb","provider":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}