Last book of 2018—finished with 5 minutes to spare!There were some real gems in this collection and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Duende plays on this notion (heavily influenced by Federico Garcia Lorca) of the this undefinable quality to call something up from within - this duende is the larger theme of Smith's collection. What really stood out to me was her strong sense of place and setting, and the use of Spanish phrases throughout the pieces.

Tracy K. Smith is so good.My favorite poems were "Duende," "In Brazil," and "When Zappa Crashes My Family Reunion."

"There are ways of naming the wound" "The point is, you won't necessarily know Whether you're living a science fiction reality"In Duende, as in her other poetry collection, Life on Mars, Tracy K Smith explores loss, desire, identity, current events and even science fiction. Both collections share a tone that is darkly meditative and occasionally conversational. In Duende, this dark energy reflects the collection's title. According to Graywolf Press, "Duende, that dark and elusive force described...

This was just beautiful I listened to the audiobook version read by the author. So worth the listen.

I need to re-read this to really properly rate it. So it's probably amazing.

SeptemberThis is the only world:Our opaque lives. Our secrets. And that’s all.A streak of Orange, a cloud of smoke unfurls.The century’s in rubble, so we curlAround pictures of ourselves, like Russian dollsWhose bodies within bodies form a worldFree of argument, a makeshift cureFor old-fashioned post-millennial denial.A lake of fire. A Christ in clouds unfurled.Knowledge is regret. Regret is pure,But sometimes what we do with it is small.We ride the season, married to the world.I’m the same. Ano...

There is a lot of sorrow in this book.  Some of the poems are personal, some of them are based on historical (including recent history) events, and some poems I was not able to figure out at all.  A good poetical companion to this book might be Whereas, Layli Long Soldier also finds inspiration in history.I didn't know what "duende" meant, so I looked it up: the duende is a house spirit, usually mischievous, and often is associated with heightened emotions, especially suffering.  Smith includes

Loved this book. It didn't quite drop bombs in my head the way Life On Mars did, but it was still quite powerful. The poems are lyrical and sharp, not to mention insightful. A wonderful read.

Tracy K. Smith is the current Poet Laureate of the United States. Earlier this year I read her Pulitzer winning collection Life on Mars, which features eclectic poems that make one think about the current goings on in society. Prior to Life on Mars, Smith had published two other award winning collections of poetry. The second such collection, Duende, gets its inspiration from a Frederico Garcia Lorca poem and play set in Andalusia, Spain. Winning the James Laughlin Award as a top second poetry c...

Smith's work is marked by intelligence, heart, and spiritual questioning. The mix of personal concerns with the larger world appears seamless. I return to this book again and again.

A respite for the Mind. Her images leap off the page. The voices of her people linger in the heart. “Trees scratching at the Moon”, the vision of a little boy stolen from his Mother’s home in her poem, Theft. The laborers whose eyes are fixed not on their Future, but Uphill to their Past. So many beautiful lines in a very slim volume. Worth reading over and over. I’ll be checking out her other works but this one was filled with Duende!

From the collection:Diego,Winter is a boa constrictorContemplating a goat. Nothing moves,Save for the river, making its waySteadily into ice. A state of consternation.My limbs settle into stony disuseIn this city full of streetlampsAnd unimaginable sweets.I would rather your misuse, your beardSmelling of some other woman'sIdle afternoons. Lately, the heart of meHas grown to resemble a cactusWhose one flower blooms one night onlyUnder the whitest,The most disdainful of moons.

I've already read this twice. Such beautiful poems. Lyrical but with a punch (my favorite kind of poem).Duende is a Spanish image of a kind of imp. It is also (according to Google) an element of passion and desire. Lorca has an essay about the duende which I highly recommend and can't begin to summarize. Smith opens her collection with a quote from this essay.As I said, I have already reread the collection once and want to read it again. I borrowed this copy from the library but I may just have

I hadn't read any poetry for a while, so I thought I'd go to a reliable favorite: Tracy K. Smith. Although Duende didn't connect with me quite like Life on Mars, it is a powerful collection, especially section III, which includes "Into the Moonless Night," about child soldiers and abductees in Uganda, along with several other poems with roots in stories of young people marginalized, abused, and discarded. Even when I felt a little lost among some of the other poems, I still enjoyed Smith's start...

More of 4.5 stars, but still. Smith is a favourite of mine and though I personally enjoyed "Life on Mars" more, "Duende" is still a great collection. There's a lot of splicing of form here where poetry meets news snippets meets song lyrics meets history, etc. The collection was also very cohesive in terms of theme.

Tracy K. Smith is officially the best poet I've ever read, bar none. She has such a clear, clarion, captivating voice that manages to be so many things at once - modern but pays homage to past poets; conversational but lyrical; verbose without feeling long-winded; pointed and political without being aggravating; and so much more. This book is 10 years old and still manages to anticipate so many of the cultural hot points facing us today, from treatment of POC to police violence to political igno...

her poems always leave me in awe. this is the second collection I've read from Smith and she's such an incredibly powerful and moving poet. I just want to re-read her poems and listen to her read her poetry and just sit mesmorized by her wording, descriptions, and the emotions she evokes in the poems.

I love listening to Tracy K. Smith read her poems. I don't get as close a read as they deserve, and as I'd get taking more time with them in print, but it's such a gift to hear such an incredible poet read her work. I'll definitely want to pick this one up in print. By far my favorite poem in this collection was "History", which, like so many of her poems that speak to America's core violence, I believe should be read in every American history class. "History" was also an incredible, though pain...

A 2007 volume of poems that explores various aspects of Lorca'stheory of duende. In Spanish, it means elf or mischievous spirit.It looks death in the eye in all things and is earthy and passionate.It is much more elucidated by Lorca's essay, but for this book thatis probably enough. From on poem, "The earth is dry and they livewanting./Each with a small reservoir/of furious music heavy in thethroat." A long poem that is a tribute to women in Uganda that survivedthe war in which many women were e...