Before her untimely death in 2010, Ai, known for her searing dramatic monologues, was hailed as one of the most singular voices of her generation (New York Times Book Review). Now for the first time, all eight books by this essential and uniquely American poet have been gathered in one volume. from The Cockfighter s Daughter I found my father, face down, in his homemade chili and had to hit the bowl with a hammer to get it off, then scrape the pinto beans and chunks of ground beef off his face with a knife.