Poet Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights is published by Algonquin Books this month. Of his new collection of essays, Tracy K. Smith writes, “Ross Gay’s eye lands upon wonder at every turn, bolstering my belief in the countless small miracles that surround us.”
I’m thrilled that Ross discusses my new collection, I: New and Collected Poems, in a conversation with Jane Ciabattari about five books that delight him, including The Black Maria by Aracelis Girmay; To Float in the Space Between, by Terrance Hayes; Old in Art School, by Nell Irvin Painte; and White Girls, by Hilton Als. Go to Literary Hub to read the interview, and to the American Bookseller’s Association’s Indie Next List to learn what booksellers are saying about Ross’s “genre-defying” new book that reminds us of “the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders.”
“I can barely explain the kinds of thinking and feeling that Derricotte’s work makes possible for me, the kind of space she makes for me, space that makes plain that I am a we, we are an us.” —Ross Gay