''Thomas and Beulah'' is a book of

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s by American poet

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the posit ...

that tells the semi-fictionalized chronological story of her maternal grandparents, the focus being on her grandfather (Thomas, his name in the book as well as in real life) in the first half and her grandmother (named Beulah in the book, although her real name was Georgianna) in the second. It won the 1987

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for poetry.

Mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

*''The Event''Also featured in a chapbook titled ''Mandolin'' in '' Ohio Review 28'' *''Variation on Pain'' *''Jiving'' *''Straw Hat''Also featured in ''

Callaloo Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...

''. *''Courtship'' *''Refrain'' *''Variation on Guilt'' *''Nothing Down''Also featured in '' The Reaper''. *''The Zeppelin Factory'' *''Under the Viaduct, 1932'' *''Lightnin' Blues''Also featured in ''

Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

''. *''Compendium'' *''Definition in the Face of Unnamed Fury'' *''Aircraft''Also featured in ''

CutBank ''CutBank'' is a literary journal that is affiliated with the University of Montana's creative writing program. The journal was founded in 1973 with the help of William Kittredge among others. It is the third incarnation of the magazine at the un ...

''. *''Aurora Borealis'' *''Variation on Gaining a Son'' *''One Volume Missing'' *''The Charm'' *''Gospel''Also featured in '' Georgia Review''. *''Roast Possum'' *''The Stroke'' *''The Satisfaction Coal Company'' *''Thomas at the Wheel'' II. Canary in Bloom *''Taking in Wash''Also featured in ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

''. *''Magic''Also featured in ''

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

''. *''Courtship, Diligence''Also featured in '' New England Review & Bread Loaf Quarterly''. *''Promises'' *''Dusting''Also featured in ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

''.Also featured in ''

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

: VII,

Pushcart Press Pushcart Press is a publishing house established in 1972 by Bill Henderson (a one-time associate editor at Doubleday) and is perhaps most famous for its Pushcart Prize and for the anthology of prize winners it publishes annually. The press has ...

, 1984'', ''Museum, Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 1983'', and ''The Morrow Anthology of Younger American Poets, 1985''. *''A Hill of Beans''Also featured in ''The Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry,

University Press of New England The University Press of New England (UPNE), located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and founded in 1970, was a university press consortium including Brandeis University, Dartmouth College (its host member), Tufts University, the University of New Hampsh ...

, 1985'' *''Weathering Out''Also featured in ''

Agni Review ''AGNI'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1972 that publishes poetry, fiction, essays, reviews, interviews, and artwork twice a year in print and weekly online from its home at Boston University. Its coeditors are Sven Birkerts and Will ...

''. *''Motherhood'' *''Anniversary'' *''The House on Bishop Street'' *''Daystar'' *''Obedience'' *''The Great Palaces of Versailles''Also featured in ''New American Poets of the Eighties'', '' Wampeter Press'', 1984 *''Pomade'' *''Headdress'' *''Sunday Greens'' *''Recovery'' *''Nightmare'' *''Wingfoot Lake'' *''Company'' *''The Oriental Ballerina'' III. Chronology

Notes and references

External links

Online poem, ''Straw Hat'', from ''Thomas and Beulah'' by Rita Dove at alittlepoetry.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas And Beulah American poetry collections 1986 poetry books Books published by university presses

Contents

Notes and references

External links