The Whiskey Of Our Discontent
Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience and Change Agent
Published on 20. June 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
220 pages
978-1-60846-763-1 (ISBN)
Description
Reflections on the profound influence of poet, educator, and social activist Gwendolyn Brooks through examinations of her life and work. Poet, educator, and social activist Gwendolyn Brooks was a singular force in American culture. The first black woman to be named United States poet laureate, Brook's poetry, fiction, and social commentary shed light on the beauty of humanity, the distinct qualities of black life and community, and the destructive effects of racism, sexism, and class inequality. A collection of thirty essays combining critical analysis and personal reflection, The Whiskey of Our Discontent, presents essential elements of Brooks' oeuvre on race, gender, class, community, and poetic craft, while also examining her life as poet, reporter, mentor, sage, activist, and educator. Quraysh Ali Lansana has written and edited more than a dozen books to include BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip Hop. He teaches writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chi
Reviews / Votes
"[A] superb tribute...[an] essential collection."-Booklist"But each time I read Miss Brooks, each time I revisit her poems, they climb up on my knees and sit in tight contentment. They speak to me of form and color, patterns and dawns. They talk of myths; they tell me where flesh lives, where a troop of young heroes and sheroes lean back in chairs, 'beautiful. Impudent. Ready for life.' Where the young 'Live not for battles won. / Live not for the-end-of-the-song. / Live in the along.'"
-Sonia Sanchez, from the Foreword
"Gwendolyn Brooks wrote and performed her magnificent poetry for and about the Black people of Chicago, and yet it was also read with anguish, delight, and awe by white people, successive waves of immigrants, and ultimately the world."
-Bill Ayers, from the Introduction
"If a person from another planet, continent, or culture wishes to gain insight into the inner workings, the comings and goings of Black people in America, an excellent place to begin a formal or informal education is with the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks."
-Haki R. Madhubuti, from the Afterword
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
373 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-60846-763-1 (9781608467631)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Quraysh Ali Lansana | Georgia A. Popoff
The Whiskey of Our Discontent
Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience and Change Agent
E-Book
06/2021
Haymarket Books
€18.18
Available for download
Persons
Quraysh Ali Lansana has written and edited over a dozen books. He teaches writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Recent titles include The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip Hop.
Georgia A. Popoff, is a poet, educator, and editor, whose third collection is Psalter: The Agnostic's Book of Common Curiosities. She co-authored Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, & Social Justice in Classroom & Community, with Quraysh Ali Lansana. Sonia Sanchez-award-winning poet, activist, scholar, and formerly the Laura Carnell professor of English and women's studies at Temple University-is the author of sixteen books, including Like the Singing Coming off the Drums, Does Your House Have Lions?, Wounded in the House of a Friend, and Shake Loose My Skin.
Georgia A. Popoff, is a poet, educator, and editor, whose third collection is Psalter: The Agnostic's Book of Common Curiosities. She co-authored Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, & Social Justice in Classroom & Community, with Quraysh Ali Lansana. Sonia Sanchez-award-winning poet, activist, scholar, and formerly the Laura Carnell professor of English and women's studies at Temple University-is the author of sixteen books, including Like the Singing Coming off the Drums, Does Your House Have Lions?, Wounded in the House of a Friend, and Shake Loose My Skin.