{"product_id":"the-crack-in-the-earth-paperback","title":"The Crack in the Earth - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAnne Becker\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eNicole Salimbene\u003c\/b\u003e (Cover Design by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA themed collection of poetry by Anne Becker, former Poet Laureate of Takoma Park. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"As you enter Anne Becker's The Crack in the Earth, notice her reverence for the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehuman body. In this journey from childhood to old age, the poet reckons with life\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand its alternative-death. The haiku that prefaces this collection measures the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebreadth and scope of this masterful work: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo old women bellies\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eround like the moon, like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epregnancy-like childhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe old women may be sisters or a teacher and student. They are the survivors\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho live longer than their men.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOccasionally, the poet breaks through to another world, a world of wonder as in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe cacophonous contrapuntal poem that gives the collection its name \"The\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCrack in the Earth II.\" It's a poem in three columns with impressionistic lines: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"...we don't\/know where\/we are-we\/crouched low\/to creep through\/the tunnel\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand \"disgorged\/\/we are flying\/\/out of the push\/\/\/ of the breath\/\/the air opens\/\/the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethrust the\/\/\/ threat and\/\/we're flying\/\/\" While the poem describes two children\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexploring abandoned tunnels, it suggests the act of a woman giving birth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecker's The Crack in the Earth creates an exuberance for living that defies age.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e-Karren L. Alenier, editor, From the Belly: Poets Respond to Gertrude Stein's\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTender Buttons, Volumes I, II, III \u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 90\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.24 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 15, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67960165302493,"sku":"9798995980155","price":25.86,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/bFi5rqJ3As9798995980155.webp?v=1790819450","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/the-crack-in-the-earth-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}