Ross Gay’s ‘Inciting Joy’ is a gift that’s meant to be shared – Frederick News Post

I began reading “Inciting Joy” in a profound state of doubt.

Yes, I respected its author, Ross Gay, for the whimsy, discipline and defiance that produced his prior essay and poetry collections, “The Book of Delights” and “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” which won a 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award. And yes, I was partial to his recognition of violence in poetic works like “Bringing the Shovel Down,” even as I lauded the witness and turning toward each other embodied by “Be Holding,” which won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.