{"product_id":"soulscript-isbn-9780767918466","title":"soulscript","description":"\u003cb\u003eBlack poets from the early twentieth century and onward come together for a moving anthology, edited and organized by the late, revered poet June Jordan. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst published in 1970, \u003ci\u003esoulscript\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant, panoramic collection of poetry from some of the most eloquent voices in the art. Selected for their literary excellence and by the dictates of Jordan’s heart, these works tell the story of both collective and personal experiences, in Jordan’s words, “in tears, in rage, in hope, in sonnet, in blank\/free verse, in overwhelming rhetorical scream.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSoulscript \u003c\/i\u003efeatures works by Jordan and other luminaries like Gwendolyn Brooks, Countee Cullen, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Gayl Jines, James Weldon Johnson, Audre Lorde, Claude McKay, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, and Richard Wright, as well as the fresh voices of a turbulent era’s younger writers. Celebrated spoken-word poet Staceyann Chin, an original cast member of \u003ci\u003eDef Poetry Jam on Broadway\u003c\/i\u003e, has also added an introduction that speaks to Jordan’s legacy, helping to further cement \u003ci\u003esoulscript \u003c\/i\u003eas a visionary compilation that has already become a modern classic.“In political journalism that cuts like razors, in essays that blast the darkness of confusion with relentless light; in poetry that looks as closely into lilac buds as into death’s mouth . . . she has comforted, explained, described, wrestled with, taught and made us laugh out loud before we wept . . . I am talking about a span of forty years of tireless activism coupled with and fueled by flawless art.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eToni Morrison, on June Jordan\u003cb\u003eJUNE JORDAN \u003c\/b\u003ewas an internationally recognized and beloved writer, teacher, and activist. The author of many books of poetry and essays, including \u003ci\u003eKissing God Goodbye\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Haruko\/Love Poems\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Some of Us Did Not Die\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eAffirmative Acts\u003c\/i\u003e, she died from breast cancer in 2002.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHarlem Moon Classics Series Advisor: Gina Dent, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and History of Consciousness, University of California, Santa Cruz.\u003cb\u003eMY PEOPLE by Langston Hughes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe night is beautiful, \u003cbr\u003eSo the faces of my people. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe stars are beautiful, \u003cbr\u003eSo the eyes of my people. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeautiful, also, is the sun.\u003cbr\u003eBeautiful, also, are the souls of my people. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUNCLE BULL-BOY by June Jordan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis brother        after dinner\u003cbr\u003eonce a year would play the piano\u003cbr\u003eshort and tough in white shirt\u003cbr\u003eplaid suspenders        green tie and\u003cbr\u003echecked trousers.\u003cbr\u003eTwo teeth were gold.        His eyes\u003cbr\u003ewere pink with alcohol.        His fingers\u003cbr\u003ethumped for Auld Lang Syne.\u003cbr\u003eHe played St. Louis Woman\u003cbr\u003eBoogie, Blues, the light\u003cbr\u003epedestrian.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e        But one night        after dinner\u003cbr\u003eafter chitterlings and pigs' feet\u003cbr\u003eafter bourbon and rum and rye\u003cbr\u003eafter turnip greens and mustard greens\u003cbr\u003eand sweet potato pie\u003cbr\u003eBullboy looking everywhere\u003cbr\u003erealized his brother was not there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho would emphasize the luxury\u003cbr\u003eof ice cream by the gallon who would\u003cbr\u003erepeat effusively the glamour not the gall\u003cbr\u003eof five degrees outstanding on the wall?\u003cbr\u003eWhich head would nod and then recall\u003cbr\u003ethe crimes        the apples stolen from the stalls\u003cbr\u003ethe soft coal stolen by the pile?\u003cbr\u003eWho would admire\u003cbr\u003ethe eighteenth pair of forty\u003cbr\u003edollar shoes?\u003cbr\u003eWho could extol their mother with good\u003cbr\u003ebrandy as his muse?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis brother        dead from drinking\u003cbr\u003eBullboy drank to clear his thinking\u003cbr\u003esaw the roach inside the riddle.\u003cbr\u003eSoon the bubbles from his glass\u003cbr\u003ewere the only bits of charm\u003cbr\u003ewhich overcame his folded arms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAMERICAN GOTHIC by Paul Vesey\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eTo Satch\u003cbr\u003e(The legendary Satchel Page, one of the star pitchers in Negro baseball)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSometimes I feel like I will \u003ci\u003enever\u003c\/i\u003e  stop\u003cbr\u003eJust go on forever\u003cbr\u003eTil one fine mornin'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI'm gonna reach up and grab me a handfulla stars\u003cbr\u003eSwing out my long lean leg\u003cbr\u003eAnd whip three hot strikes burnin' down the heavens\u003cbr\u003eAnd look over at God and say\u003cbr\u003eHow about that!Foreword by Staceyann Chin, cast member of Def Poetry Jam on Broadway","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301289152741,"sku":"NP9780767918466","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780767918466.jpg?v=1767737003","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/soulscript-isbn-9780767918466","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}