Sam's Book: The Debate on Afro-American Character and Destiny, 1817-1914 - Paperback

by David Ray (Author)

Eloquent and accessible poems commemorating the "stunning blast" of loss

When Sam Ray was killed at nineteen in an accident, his father began writing poetry dedicated to his memory. Sam's Book is a collection of these elegies and other poems written during Sam's lifetime. "How should I mourn?" David Ray asks. By recalling poignant events from the past he transcends his grief. He remembers Sam's first bath, a "holy/Rite"; tying the shoelaces of the "little man"; traveling to Greece, where Sam is "the first.../to see the holy moon." With painful wit and regret he summons up the image of his son's blue Toyota, fastidiously transformed by Sam and his girlfriend into a "love nest." Ray muses on what he taught Sam and what Sam taught him. Originally published in 1987, Sam's Book won the 1988 Maurice English Poetry Award.

Author Biography

David Ray is the author of many volumes of poetry, and has received numerous awards for his poetry, including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. He taught for many years at the University of Missouri--Kansas City, and now lives in Tucson, Arizona.