Mission Work
Poems
by Aaron Baker
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In this prize-winning collection, a debut poet evokes his childhood as the son of missionaries in Papua New Guinea.
Mission Work is an arresting collection of poems based on Aaron Baker’s experiences as a child of missionaries living among the Kuman people in the remote Chimbu Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Rich with Christian and Kuman myths and stories, the poems explore Western and tribal ways of looking at the world -- an interface of vastly different cultures and notions of spirituality, illuminated by the poet’s own struggles as he comes of age in this unique environment.
The images conjured in Mission Work are viscerally stirring: native people slaughter pigs for a Chimbu wedding ceremony; a papery flight of cicadas cuts through a cloud forest; hands sting as they beat a drum made of dried snakeskin. Quieter moments are shot through with the unfamiliar as well. In “Bird of Paradise,” a father angles his son’s head toward the canopy of the jungle so the boy can catch sight of an elusive bird.
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Poetry (poetic works by one author)Showing 4 featured editions. View all 4 editions?
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1
Mission Work: Poems
2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers
in English
1299902812 9781299902817
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2
Mission Work: Poems
2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
in English
0544104447 9780544104440
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3
Mission Work: Poems
April 28, 2008, Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin
Paperback
in English
- 1st
0618982671 9780618982677
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4
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Published in
New York, NY
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- Created April 30, 2008
- 14 revisions
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| May 28, 2023 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
| January 14, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
| December 27, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
| December 22, 2021 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
| April 30, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record. |