Black + Blues

by Edward Kamau Brathwaite

A collection of poems includes Fetish, Totem, Caliban, Springblade, Bread, Xango, and Koker.

Genres: Poetry

70 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Edward Kamau Brathwaite is widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon. A professor of Comparative Literature at New York University, Brathwaite is the 2006 International Winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize, for his volume of poetry Born to Slow Horses.

Brathwaite held a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex (1968) and was the co-founder of the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM). He received both the Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships in 1983, and was a winner of the 1994 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Bussa Award, the Casa de las Américas Prize for poetry, and the 1999 Charity Randall Citation for Performance and Written Poetry from the International Poetry Forum.

Brathwaite is noted for his studies of Black cultural life both in Africa and throughout the African diasporas of the world in works such as Folk Culture of the Slaves in Jamaica (1970); The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica, 1770 - 1820 (1971); Contradictory Omens (1974); Afternoon of the Status Crow (1982); and History of the Voice (1984), the publication of which established him as the authority of note on nation language.

Reviews

[Leopoldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brathwaite es un prodigio del ritmo.

[atito · Rating 4 out of 5]

bread is a real knockout huh?

[Rol-J Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first reading of a collection of Kamau's poetry. I have read single poems by him at different stages of my life and I must say that his poetry continues to intrigue me. His style is unique, his lyricism is spot-on, his rhythm unexpected. In this collection, Kamau covers a wide range of issues in a way that only a poet as respected, free and unashamed as Kamau would; he "invents" words, phrases and uses Bajan and Guyanese Creole to create his own code for his own purpose. I admit, there are parts in this collection and in individual poems that left me confused but I believe Kamau was deliberate in doing so.
Overall, a good, quick collection of work by the Nobel Laureate that never was.

[Greg Bem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first experience with Brathwaite, who I discovered after researching Bajan poetry. The book is divided into three sections, and my favorite poem is the penultimate "Crab," though there are countless flashes of brilliance and beauty throughout the book. I found some of the works difficult to get into due to the dialect (this being a good thing) and there is a lot of vocabulary that could benefit from definitions and explanations. Otherwise, it's a strong introduction and I can't wait to read more of his work.

[Javier Ponce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es imposible no leer Black + Blues en voz alta. El ritmo, la musicalidad y la escritura coloquial recuerdan a Sóngoro Cosongo de Guillén y le hace justicia. Kamau Brathwaite es uno de los mayores representantes de la literatura caribeña por una buena razón.

[in8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.5cense.com/20/770.htm

[hh · Rating 4 out of 5]

the type of poetry that inspires me to write, which is the best kind of poetry. brathwaite is fearless, his language is beautiful, and his work is a powerful punch to the system.

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a glorious read!
I immensely enjoyed this read.

[Lolilu]

COMPRAR