Savor one at a time every morning, this summer, or wolf them all down en masse on a gorgeous sunny day.” -Celeste Ng for
“Ross Gay’s poems are little celebrations of joy, and this book of mini-essays-each centering around a particular 'delight,’ from sleeping in your clothes to planting tomato seedlings to the nod of greeting between the only two black people in a room-is a pure balm for your soul. Gay, an award-winning poet, knows the value of formal constraint: his experiences of ‘delight,’ recorded daily for a year, vary widely but yield revealing patterns through insights about everything from nature and the body to race and masculinity.’” - The New Yorker “These charming, digressive ‘essayettes,’ in the manner of Montaigne, surprise and challenge. “What emerges is not a ledger of delights passively logged but a radiant lens actively searching for and magnifying them, not just with the mind but with the body as an instrument of wonder-stricken presence.” - Brain Pickings, Favorite Books of 2019 “Perfect for this tense and distracting moment -beautiful, small bites you can consume when you need some sustenance for the soul.” - Time feel purposeful and imperative as well as contagious in their joy.” - The New York Times Book Review These remarkable pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight.
The Book of Delights is about our shared bonds, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. More than anything else, though, Gay celebrates the beauty of the natural world–his garden, the flowers peeking out of the sidewalk, the hypnotic movements of a praying mantis. But Gay never dismisses the complexities, even the terrors, of living in America as a black man or the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture or the loss of those he loves. Among Gay’s funny, poetic, philosophical delights: a friend’s unabashed use of air quotes, cradling a tomato seedling aboard an airplane, the silent nod of acknowledgment between the only two black people in a room. The first nonfiction book from award-winning poet Ross Gay is a record of the small joys we often overlook in our busy lives. In The Book of Delights, one of today’s most original literary voices offers up a genre-defying volume of lyric essays written over one tumultuous year. The winner of the NBCC Award for Poetry offers up a spirited collection of short lyrical essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders. “Ross Gay’s eye lands upon wonder at every turn, bolstering my belief in the countless small miracles that surround us.” -Tracy K. The New York Times bestselling book of essays celebrating ordinary delights in the world around us by one of America's most original and observant writers, award-winning poet Ross Gay.
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