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Copper Woman: And Other Poems
Copper Woman and Other Poems is a collection of poems that announces a humanistic vision, dealing with such themes as rebirth (physical and symbolic), mythology, memory, bondage, blood, family, identities in flux, migration, politics and flights of fancy. The contents move back and forth between the past and the present, and project into the future, envisioning a new world/a new creation. The message that we are our brothers and our sisters keepers and that the earth is our home -- a home that we must protect and keep safe if we are to survive -- resonates throughout.
Copper Woman is a call to arms against apathy and all forms of tyranny. It is liberatory dub poetics that say equality and equity are possible and within reach. It invites its readers to cast off their chains and shackles and proclaim their freedom. It invites us all to grasp a greater vision of our world.
Jamaican-born Dr. Afua Cooper has achieved considerable success as a dub poet and as the author of a childrens book, a collection of poetry and as co-author of The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! Dr. Cooper is a recent recipient of the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence.
Copper Woman is a call to arms against apathy and all forms of tyranny. It is liberatory dub poetics that say equality and equity are possible and within reach. It invites its readers to cast off their chains and shackles and proclaim their freedom. It invites us all to grasp a greater vision of our world.
Jamaican-born Dr. Afua Cooper has achieved considerable success as a dub poet and as the author of a childrens book, a collection of poetry and as co-author of The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! Dr. Cooper is a recent recipient of the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence.
112 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Afua Cooper
23 books42 followersAfua Cooper is a Jamaican-born Canadian historian, author and dub poet.
Born in Westmoreland, Jamaica, Cooper grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and migrated to Toronto in 1980. She holds a Ph.D. in African-Canadian history with specialties in slavery and abolition. Her dissertation, "Doing Battle in Freedom’s Cause", is a biographical study of Henry Bibb, a 19th-century African-American abolitionist who lived and worked in Ontario. She also has expertise in women's history and New France studies.
She has published four books of poetry, including Memories Have Tongue (1994), one of the finalists in the 1992 Casa de las Americas literary award. She is the co-author of We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History (1994), which won the Joseph Brant Award for history. She has also released two albums of her poetry.
Her book The Hanging of Angelique (2006) tells the story of an enslaved African Marie-Joseph Angelique who was executed in Montreal at a time when Quebec was under French colonial rule. It was shortlisted for the 2006 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
Afua Cooper is the James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, at Dalhousie University. Her research interests are African Canadian studies, with specific regard to the period of enslavement and emancipation in 18th and 19th century Canada and the Black Atlantic; African-Nova Scotian history; political consciousness; community building and culture; slavery’s aftermath; Black youth studies.
Dr. Cooper founded the Black Canadian Studies Association (BCSA), which she currently chairs.
Born in Westmoreland, Jamaica, Cooper grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and migrated to Toronto in 1980. She holds a Ph.D. in African-Canadian history with specialties in slavery and abolition. Her dissertation, "Doing Battle in Freedom’s Cause", is a biographical study of Henry Bibb, a 19th-century African-American abolitionist who lived and worked in Ontario. She also has expertise in women's history and New France studies.
She has published four books of poetry, including Memories Have Tongue (1994), one of the finalists in the 1992 Casa de las Americas literary award. She is the co-author of We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History (1994), which won the Joseph Brant Award for history. She has also released two albums of her poetry.
Her book The Hanging of Angelique (2006) tells the story of an enslaved African Marie-Joseph Angelique who was executed in Montreal at a time when Quebec was under French colonial rule. It was shortlisted for the 2006 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
Afua Cooper is the James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, at Dalhousie University. Her research interests are African Canadian studies, with specific regard to the period of enslavement and emancipation in 18th and 19th century Canada and the Black Atlantic; African-Nova Scotian history; political consciousness; community building and culture; slavery’s aftermath; Black youth studies.
Dr. Cooper founded the Black Canadian Studies Association (BCSA), which she currently chairs.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 7, 2022
Afua Cooper's COPPER WOMAN is a collection from 2007 that blends biographical poems with imagined histories of her birthplace in Jamaica.
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"Will they remember that I can from a rural womb
where as an infant I was rocked to bed by the laughter
of rivers that flowed beside our house
Or that I was surrounded by graves of ancient ancestors
and one in particular sat on her grave every morning and waved at me
and I would say 'Morning'"
.
• Excerpt of "Biography"
.
"Will they remember that I can from a rural womb
where as an infant I was rocked to bed by the laughter
of rivers that flowed beside our house
Or that I was surrounded by graves of ancient ancestors
and one in particular sat on her grave every morning and waved at me
and I would say 'Morning'"
.
• Excerpt of "Biography"
September 16, 2020
So glad I managed to find this one after reading Cooper's book The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal (loved seeing a poem about Marie-Joseph in there as well!) Now to try and find all of Cooper's other books too.
August 1, 2025
I picked this up because I loved Cooper's The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal. These poems cover a wide variety of issues from history of North America, to racism, to immigration. If you loved her book about Angelique, one of the poems is about Angelique.
December 29, 2024
I sat down and read this front to finish in one sitting. Such a beautiful, emotional, heart touching, raw, honest poem book. I really enjoyed how she spoke her story and emphasized the themes on spirituality, history, race. It was an emotional roller coaster. Highly recommend to read at least once in your lifetime. Go buy a copy. It will move you in ways you would never imagine. I’m so glad I picked this book up and gave it a chance.
July 5, 2020
This poetry is rich with experience and symbols. I enjoyed reading these poems and allowing the author to share a glimpse into her life and mind.
October 28, 2020
My review can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDsWA...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDsWA...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews