Why the Black Hole Sings the Blues - (American Literature) by Ishmael Reed (Paperback)
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Highlights
- A new collection of poems from the American author, poet, and playwright Ishmael Reed.The poems in this new collection from Ishmael Reed were written between 2007 and 2020.
- Author(s): Ishmael Reed
- 196 Pages
- Poetry, American
- Series Name: American Literature
Description
About the Book
The poems in this collection were written between 2007 and 2020. When asked to describe the poems here, Ishmael Reed wrote: ' The poems are based on events that occurred around the house to cataclysmic space events.'Book Synopsis
A new collection of poems from the American author, poet, and playwright Ishmael Reed.The poems in this new collection from Ishmael Reed were written between 2007 and 2020. They range from poems based on events that occurred around Reed's house to cataclysmic space events. Some of the poems were commissioned. "Moving Richmond" was part of a public art installation created by Mildred Howard. The poem, in huge letters forged into weathering steel billboards greets passengers who enter the new Bay Area mass transit hub in Richmond, California. Other poems were commissioned by musicians. "Hope Is The Thing With Feathers" was performed by Gregory Porter. "Red Summer, 2015" appeared in print first and then was set to music by David Murray. Reed writes, "The longest poem in the book, "Jazz Martyrs," was begun when Reed learned about the number of black Jazz greats who didn't live past the age of forty. "I have been fortunate to live beyond the age of 80," says Reed. "I've found out who my best friends are. The ones who got me there."
Review Quotes
"His own groundbreaking literary output over six decades, in multiple languages and every form-essays, fiction, poetry, film, even editorial cartoons-has infected a generation of artists. His work as an institution builder, anthologist, and publisher has spread the work of hundreds of writers from outside the literary mainstream-students, black folks, immigrants, working-class writers, avant-garde experimentalists, and every member of his immediate family." - Chris Jackson, Paris Review
"In his writing, Reed is a great improviser, a master of collage with an amazing ability to syncretize seemingly disparate and divergent materials into coherent 'edutainments'-forms of surprise, revelation, and frequent hilarity." - Robert Elliot FoxShipping details
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