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Requiem
In these 'shrines of remembrance' for the millions of the victims of transatlantic slavery, Kwame Dawes constructs a sequence which laments, rages, mourns, but also celebrates survival. Focusing on individual moments in this holocaust which lasted nearly four hundred years, these poems both cauterize a lingering infection and offer the oil of healing. In these taut lyric pieces, Dawes achieves what might seem saying something fresh about a subject which, despite attempts at historical amnesia, will not go away. He does it by eschewing sentimentality, rant or playing to the audience, black or white. His poems go to the heart of the historical experience and its contemporary reverberations.
This sequence was inspired by the award-winning book, The Middle White Ships/Black Cargo by the American artist Tom Feelings.
This sequence was inspired by the award-winning book, The Middle White Ships/Black Cargo by the American artist Tom Feelings.
48 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
13 people want to read
About the author
Kwame Dawes
119 books180 followersBorn in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica . As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his "spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music." His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
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April 11, 2016
This is a moving, focused work where all poems are inspired by the illustrations of Tom Feeling in The Middle Passage: White Ships/ Black Cargo. I chose this to read because it's April, National Poetry Month, and I work below the SC Poetry Archive. I pulled out a bunch of poetry by Kwame Davis because I had recently read and enjoyed some anthologies he edited. He used to teach in SC and thus is considered an SC poet forevermore, but does not in fact live in the state anymore.
My favorites of this book include:
Requiem
"...Do not tell me
it is not right to lament,
do not tell me it is tired.
If we don't, who will
recall in requiem
the scattering of my tribe?"
Hate
"I understand hate.
I used to know fear.
That flame in my eyes
Not madness, nothing so benign.
Just pure hate.
I could eat your heart raw."
My favorites of this book include:
Requiem
"...Do not tell me
it is not right to lament,
do not tell me it is tired.
If we don't, who will
recall in requiem
the scattering of my tribe?"
Hate
"I understand hate.
I used to know fear.
That flame in my eyes
Not madness, nothing so benign.
Just pure hate.
I could eat your heart raw."
Displaying 1 of 1 review