Source: What Work Is: Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991) You rub your glasses with your fingers, and of course it’s someone else’s brother, narrower across the shoulders than yours but with the same sad …

‘What Work Is’ by Philip Levine explores the tension that exists between the speaker’s relationship with their brother and their understanding of work. ‘What Work Is’ unfolds as the stream of conscious …

“What Work Is” (1991) by Philip Levine is a poem about the frustration of blue-collar workers standing in a long queue to get a job.

What Work Is is a collection of poetry by Philip Levine that explores subjects characteristic of his work, including physical labor, class identity, family relationships, and personal loss. Much of the book is …

For work. You know what work is – if you’re old enough to read this you know what work is, although you may not do it. Forget you. This is about waiting, shifting from one foot to another. Feeling the light …

Philip Levine, who grows up in an industrial Detroit and had experienced the great depression, wrote many works based on his life experience and with the perspective of a working class. This...

“What Work Is” is a poem about the economic hardships faced by members of the working class, specifically the Detroit auto-industry factory workers from which Levine himself came.

We stand in the rain in a long line waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work. You know what work is--if you're old enough to read this you know what work is, although you may not do it.

For work. You know what work is--if you're old enough to read this you know what work is, although you may not do it. Forget you. This is about waiting, shifting from one foot to another. Feeling the light …

Jul 14, 1991 · Among this impressive collection of poets, Philip Levine emerges as a noteworthy figure with the publication of his work, What Work Is. Levine's poetry is distinguished by its focus on...