{"product_id":"mission-work-poems-9780618982677","title":"Mission Work: Poems","description":"In this prize-winning collection, a debut poet evokes his childhood as the son of missionaries in Papua New Guinea. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMission Work is an arresting collection of poems based on Aaron Baker's experiences as a child of missionaries living among the Kuman people in the remote Chimbu Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Rich with Christian and Kuman myths and stories, the poems explore Western and tribal ways of looking at the world -- an interface of vastly different cultures and notions of spirituality, illuminated by the poet's own struggles as he comes of age in this unique environment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe images conjured in Mission Work are viscerally stirring: native people slaughter pigs for a Chimbu wedding ceremony; a papery flight of cicadas cuts through a cloud forest; hands sting as they beat a drum made of dried snakeskin. Quieter moments are shot through with the unfamiliar as well. In \"Bird of Paradise,\" a father angles his son's head toward the canopy of the jungle so the boy can catch sight of an elusive bird. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eStanley Plumly, this year's guest judge, writes, \"How rare to find precision and immersion so alive in the same poetry. Aaron Baker's pressure on his language not only intensifies and elevates his memories of Papuan 'mission work, ' it transforms it back into something very like his original childhood experience. Throughout this remarkably written and felt first book, the reader, like the author himself, 'can't tell if this is white or black magic, ' Christian, tribal, or both at once.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Aaron Baker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ecco Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/18\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 80\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.88h x 6.24w x 0.25d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780618982677\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlumly, Stanley:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - American poet Stanley Plumly has taught English at University of Maryland, College Park's creative writing program. Raised in Ohio, he helped found the \u003ci\u003eOhio Review\u003c\/i\u003e while teaching at Ohio University, where he earned his M.A. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40075943084147,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":14.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_6b4add41-3257-4dce-8705-f68bf20545dd.jpg?v=1652105816","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/mission-work-poems-9780618982677","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}