Since there's no description of this moving collection of poems about the black experience in post-war (pick your war) America. This is from the back flap:
'This is a first collection of poems of affirmation by a young, bright talent. "These poems celebrate Blank folks in general and hope, in any color, in particular." write Nikky Finney. The title poem is about a woman who doesn't accept her given lot in life and instead changes her existence. But the most important point is that after changing her own life she reaches out for someone else to pull away with her. The poems, write Nikky Finney, "should appeal to anyone who has not given up, who chooses "wings of gauze" over aimlessness.'
I finally picked up and read these poems, more than 10 years after I first heard her read from this book. It has aged quite well. There is more respect than anger or resentment about what our black citizens had to endure. Though you do see why the negative emotions are there. But the various voices of the narrator, writer, and the people around her come through.
--
Kuzu
'This is a first collection of poems of affirmation by a young, bright talent. "These poems celebrate Blank folks in general and hope, in any color, in particular." write Nikky Finney. The title poem is about a woman who doesn't accept her given lot in life and instead changes her existence. But the most important point is that after changing her own life she reaches out for someone else to pull away with her. The poems, write Nikky Finney, "should appeal to anyone who has not given up, who chooses "wings of gauze" over aimlessness.'
I finally picked up and read these poems, more than 10 years after I first heard her read from this book. It has aged quite well. There is more respect than anger or resentment about what our black citizens had to endure. Though you do see why the negative emotions are there. But the various voices of the narrator, writer, and the people around her come through.
--
Kuzu
