What Work Is

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 shaped by concerns for blue collar workers as well as national political events. The focus on work and the working class has led to the collection being read through the lens of Marxist literary criticism. 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. Themes Major themes in the collection focus on the American working class. Many characters are vivid representations of American workers employed in blue-collar jobs. Settings include plumbing and plating factories, brass factories, automobile manufacturing plants, as well as neighborhoods in Detroit. The poetry finds its power as Levine reveals the inner lives of his characters, mostly blue-collar workers, but also artists, readers, and academics. According to Daniel Gyillory, Levine's poetry is accessible and moving and utterly American. The poems in What Work Is are subtle in their thematic construction. Levine avoids creating caricatures, instead presenting real blue-collar workers, representing a station of life not commonly the subject of contemporary American poetry. This helps place the collection within the tradition of working class poetry. The poems feature different types of work, some of which reflect the actual work experience of the author. For instance, the poems "Fear and Fame" and "Growth" are direct accounts of two of Levine's jobs as a young man. "Fear and Fame" is based on a job Levine had cleaning out and refilling acid vats in his mid twenties. "Growth" is about the job Levine held at a soap factory at the age of fourteen. Many of Levine's poems are based on his experience growing up in Detroit. The title poem, "What Work Is", is based, for example, on Levine's experience waiting in a Detroit employment line. "The Right Cross" is related to a boxing teacher who taught Levine to defend himself while growing up in Detroit.