Description
The Politics of My Heart was the first book published by Pleasure Boat Studio, and we’re extremely proud to have been able to put it out. We’d admired William Slaughter’s earlier book, Untold Stories, and we were excited to see a new work by him. We feel that he has a voice which is his alone, a voice at once contemplative and playful. Since we enjoy reading William Slaughter and since we have been so moved by his poems, we feel a joy to be able to share this voice with others. – From Jack Estes, 1996
“What emerges in The Politics of My Heart is an outsider’s perspective full of a deep romanticism and ambivalence about this ancient land. How else can a foreigner come to terms with such an unwieldy land, a people so full of endurance and fire? Slaughter’s collection is one of enduring grief, his cross-cultural personal tango with a land beyond his comprehension. In ‘Reading Tiananmen Square,’ he writes: ‘China a father who killed his own sons / And this night, molested his daughters China China / A living coffin in which I have been buried / for a thousand years.’ In light of Deng Xiaoping’s recent demise at age 92 and speculations of ensuing power struggles and possible massive bloodshed, William Slaughter’s collection The Politics of My Heart may well resonate into the 21st century.” – Shalin Hai-Jew, Pacific Reader, Spring/Summer 1997
Diane Donovan, The Bookwatch, Sept. 1996 –
“William Slaughter’s poetry evokes the images of a troubled people presently struggling towards freedom and the twenty-first century, yet holding on to concepts and values from an historic past. Slaughter’s poetry is at once simple and profound, and most of all memorable. The Politics of My Heart is a highly recommended addition to the library poetry shelf.”
the late writer Shen Congwen, Professor Xu and others –
“William Slaughter’s poetry collection The Politics of My Heart – based on mainland Chinese politics – repeats William Carlos Williams’ concept of ‘moral’ poetry as a ‘rival government.’ This poet’s heroes are those who are rebels against inhumane and authoritarian governments.”