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''What Work Is'' is a collection of American poetry by Philip Levine. The collection has many themes that are representative of Levine's writing including physical labor, class identity, family relationships and personal loss. Its primary focus on work and the working class led to it being studied with emphasis on Marxist literary criticism. The focus on work is expressed in thematically different ways throughout the collection. Furthermore much of the collection was shaped by concerns for blue collar workers as well as nationwide political events. Critical acclaim for Levine has also led his poetry, including this collection, to undergo further analysis by critics and students. ==Background== "What Work Is" was first published in 1991 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in New York. This poetry collection won the National Book Award for Poetry in 1991.〔 〕〔 ("National Book Awards – 1991" ). National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-25. (With "appreciation" by John Murillo from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog. Levine won the Poetry award in 1980 and 1991.)〕 After Levine was named Poet Laureate, ''What Work Is'' graced the top of Amazon.com's "Movers and Shakers" list. Because of Philip Levine growing up in an industrial Detroit much of his work focuses on that aspect of his life. This is perhaps what has led Edward Hirsch of the New York Times Book Review to label Levine as "a large, ironic Whitman of the industrial heartland". Levine was inspired by many events as he was growing up during the Great Depression. His heroes were not only those soldiers fighting against oppression in the Spanish Civil War but also the people around him who worked simply to stave off poverty. This shows in Levine's poetry as his subject matter is often the harshness of the life of the working class. Many poems in "What Work Is" seem to speak for the working class and show the reality of the labor that they endure. Levine has stated that he chose to represent the working class and be a voice for them.〔 When the collection ''What Work Is'' was first released, unemployment was the highest it had been in nearly seven years.〔Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. Accessed November 14th, 2011 http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet〕 The Persian Gulf War had started and ended quickly, yet the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had caused the 1990 oil price shock which created a mild recession. The mild recession combined with Reaganomics caused many steel mills and factories were forced to close forming Rust Belt. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「What Work Is」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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