Paperback / softback | |
April 29, 2003 | |
9780819565846 | |
English | |
72 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
.25 Pounds (US) | |
$15.95 USD, £12.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Electronic book text | |
January 1, 2012 | |
9780819572486 | |
English | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$12.99 USD, £9.95 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Outlandish Blues
Winner of the Harper Lee Award (2018)
Fierce and sensual, the poems in Outlandish Blues merge everyday speech with a shimmering lyricism and burst from the page into song. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers sees the blues, what she terms the "shared ‘blue notes,''' as an important intersection between the secular and the divine, and between the various African American vernacular traditions, from spirituals to jazz. Part Nina Simone, part Bessie Smith, her poems are filled with a sweaty honesty, moving from the personal to the collective experience. This movement is often accomplished through the use of personae, concentrated here in a stunning series of poems on the Biblical figures of Hagar and Sarah. Whether about a contemporary domestic scene, a slave ship, or Aretha Franklin, these are poems that speak to the soul of experience.
Fierce and sensual, the poems in Outlandish Blues merge everyday speech with a shimmering lyricism and burst from the page into song. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers sees the blues, what she terms the "shared ‘blue notes,''' as an important intersection between the secular and the divine, and between the various African American vernacular traditions, from spirituals to jazz. Part Nina Simone, part Bessie Smith, her poems are filled with a sweaty honesty, moving from the personal to the collective experience. This movement is often accomplished through the use of personae, concentrated here in a stunning series of poems on the Biblical figures of Hagar and Sarah. Whether about a contemporary domestic scene, a slave ship, or Aretha Franklin, these are poems that speak to the soul of experience.
About the Author
Honoree Fannone Jeffers is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma and the author of The Gospel of Barbecue (2000), for which she received the Wick Poetry Prize.
Reviews
"I am struck by the boldness of this poetry, the musicality, and the sense of historical and spiritual matters. This is a powerful new voice."—Cynthia Hogue, author of The Never Wife
"The Age of Phillis illuminates an unbroken lineage, the way one poet pays homage to another and keeps the continuum for which we are all indebted. This is a necessary and visceral book, that brings to life the fullness of Wheatley."—Matthew Shenoda, author of Tahir Suite
Paperback / softback | |
April 29, 2003 | |
9780819565846 | |
English | |
72 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
.25 Pounds (US) | |
$15.95 USD, £12.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Electronic book text | |
January 1, 2012 | |
9780819572486 | |
English | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$12.99 USD, £9.95 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
The Age of Phillis
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Mar 2020
- Wesleyan University Press
$26.95 USD
- Hardback
$21.99 USD
- Electronic book text
The Glory Gets
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
May 2015
- Wesleyan University Press
$24.95 USD
- Hardback
$19.99 USD
- Electronic book text
Other Titles from Wesleyan Poetry Series
Asked What Has Changed
Ed Roberson
Jan 2023
- Wesleyan University Press
$24.95 USD
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$15.95 USD
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$19.99 USD
- Electronic book text
Be Brave to Things
Jack Spicer, edited by Daniel Katz
Oct 2021
- Wesleyan University Press
$35.00 USD
- Hardback
The Past
Wendy Xu
Sep 2021
- Wesleyan University Press
$15.95 USD
- Paperback / softback
$25.00 USD
- Hardback
Other Titles in POETRY / General
Elegguas
Kamau Brathwaite
Feb 2021
- Wesleyan University Press
$24.95 USD
- Hardback
$14.99 USD
- Electronic book text
$17.95 USD
- Paperback / softback
BAX 2020
Seth Abramson, Jesse Damiani, edited by Carmen Maria Machado, Joyelle McSweeney
Dec 2020
- Wesleyan University Press
$19.95 USD
- Paperback / softback
$15.99 USD
- Electronic book text