Even though The Book of Delights isn't poetry, Gay is a poet and the writing is very poetic.What are some rituals that bring joy to your life? Gay seems to take pleasure in ritual or routine (one example being the journaling exercise about 'delight' which led to the book).As a reader, how did you feel about the personal tone of the writing? Would you have enjoyed the book more or less if the writing adhered to a more traditional essay format? One interviewer pointed out that the essays in The Book of Delights often feel like journal entries.

How does he juxtapose the two for greater effect?

What role does humor and tragedy play in Ross Gay’s observations.

How does attention to these small details add to Gay’s overall themes?

Ross Gay often finds delight in the smallest of objects: a flower thriving in a sidewalk crack, or two people sharing the work of carrying a bag.

16) Discuss Gay’s ability to overlap themes of systemic racism, delight and kindness, loss and sorrow, often in the space of one essay.

“I’m trying to remember the last day I haven’t been reminded of the inconceivable violence black people have endured in this country.” (p.

Why do you think he employs this style? How does it make you feel when the writer addresses you directly?

Gay often uses a direct, conversational writing style.

What do you think of Gay’s assertion that all new statues should have in their hands “flowers, or shovels, or babies, or seedlings…”? Over the summer of 2020, statues in public spaces were the focus of controversy. Tues armed with guns that he first mentions in chapter 9.

Ross gay's the book of delights