Hands Washing Water

Fiction & Literature, Poetry
Cover of the book Hands Washing Water by Chris Abani, Copper Canyon Press
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Author: Chris Abani ISBN: 9781619320703
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press Publication: December 18, 2012
Imprint: Copper Canyon Press Language: English
Author: Chris Abani
ISBN: 9781619320703
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
Publication: December 18, 2012
Imprint: Copper Canyon Press
Language: English


“Chris Abani’s poetry resonates with a devastating beauty which cuts through to the heart of human strength.”—Pride


Hands Washing Water is Chris Abani's fourth poetry collection—a mischievous book of displacement, exile, ancestry, and subversive humor. The central section, “Buffalo Women,” is a Civil War correspondence between lovers that plays on our assumptions about war, gender, morality, and politics.


Sweetest Henri,
I know we promised to be honest,
one to the other, but your recent missive,
though welcome as any epistle from you,
filled me with a dread that clung
like dampness to wet wood. I am terrified
for your immortal soul, dear sweet Henri.
This mad war of Lincoln is infecting you
with a sickness too depraved to even address. . .

Abani’s writing is ruthless, at times traumatic, and consistently filled with surprising twists and turns.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart


“Chris Abani’s poetry resonates with a devastating beauty which cuts through to the heart of human strength.”—Pride


Hands Washing Water is Chris Abani's fourth poetry collection—a mischievous book of displacement, exile, ancestry, and subversive humor. The central section, “Buffalo Women,” is a Civil War correspondence between lovers that plays on our assumptions about war, gender, morality, and politics.


Sweetest Henri,
I know we promised to be honest,
one to the other, but your recent missive,
though welcome as any epistle from you,
filled me with a dread that clung
like dampness to wet wood. I am terrified
for your immortal soul, dear sweet Henri.
This mad war of Lincoln is infecting you
with a sickness too depraved to even address. . .

Abani’s writing is ruthless, at times traumatic, and consistently filled with surprising twists and turns.

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