''Human Hours'' is a 2018 collection of poetry and essays written by

Catherine Barnett Catherine Barnett (born 1960 in San Francisco) is an American poet and educator. She is the author of ''Human Hours'' (Graywolf Press, 2018); ''The Game of Boxes'' (Graywolf Press, 2012), winner of the James Laughlin Award; and ''Into Perfect Sphe ...

, published by

Graywolf Press Graywolf Press is an Independent publisher, independent, non-profit publishing, publisher located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Graywolf Press publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Graywolf Press collaborates with organizations such as the Co ...

. The collection received positive reviews.

Development

Originally, Barnett intended to call the book ''The Accursed Questions''. Barnett first heard the term from poet Ilya Kaminsky, in reference to the "huge questions of humanity" addressed by "nineteenth-century Russian novelists". Barnett drew inspiration from Ellen Bryant Voigt's collection ''Headwaters'' and Samuel Beckett's 1961 play '' Happy Days'' during the book's composition.

Reception

According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the collection received mostly "Positive" reviews. A review in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' referred to the book as "elegantly understated".

References

American poetry collections 2018 poetry books Graywolf Press books {{lit-essay-stub