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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote the poem titled "Sudden"?

2. What poem did Siv Cedering contribute to the collection?

3. What can the author remember clearly of the children of his first grade class in "First Grade"?

4. In "Shedding Skin," what does the author rub against?

5. What poem by Peter Sears is included in the collection?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author consider about her grief in "On the Suicide of a Young Boy I Did Not Know"?

2. What is described in "Dedication"? What simile is used to describe old papers?

3. How is the "beloved" described in the poem "This Isn't Fair"?

4. What structural choices did the author make in "What Great Grief Has Made the Empress Mute"? Why?

5. How is the coat described in "My Father's Coat"?

6. What does the author miss in "Song of the Prodigal Son"?

7. What does the author discover in the sculptures in "The New World"?

8. What does the author write about her choice to collect these poems in the Introduction?

9. How does the author describe his parents in "Leaving the Lights On"?

10. What is "Almost Evenly Divided" in the poem by this name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the theme of death in "Garage Sale" and "Benavides, Texas, 1906." How is the setting of each poem described? How does the setting impact the poem's tone?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of self-identity in the poems "Waking Instructions" and "I, Myself." What symbolism and imagery is used to reinforce this theme?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss and describe the artwork in "What Have You Lost"? Who contributed the photographs in the book? How do the images serve to reflect the theme of loss?

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