In this Book
Minnesota Historical Society Press
- Blues Vision: African American Writing from Minnesota
- Book
- 2015
- Published by: Minnesota Historical Society Press
summary
A rich Minnesota literary tradition is brought into the spotlight in this groundbreaking collection of incisive prose and powerful poetry by forty- three black writers who educate, inspire, and reveal the unabashed truth.
Historically significant figures tell their stories, demonstrating how much and how little conditions have changed: Gordon Parks hitchhikes to Bemidji,
Taylor Gordon describes his first day as a chauffeur in St. Paul, and Nellie Stone Johnson insists on escaping the farm for high school in Minneapolis. A profusion
of modern voices— poet Tish Jones, playwright Kim Hines, and memoirist Frank Wilderson— reflect the dizzying, complex realities of the present.
Showcasing the unique vision and reality of Minnesota’s African American community from the Harlem renaissance through the civil rights movement, from the black power movement to the era of hip- hop and the time of America’s first black president, this compelling anthology provides an explosion of artistic expression about what it means to be a Minnesotan.
Table of Contents
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- Introduction
- pp. ix-xii
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xv
- Scene 1: Heart
- from A Choice of Weapons
- pp. 4-8
- Poetryapolis
- pp. 9-10
- Ottawa, MN, Cemetery—1992
- pp. 15-16
- Coming to Minnesota
- pp. 17-27
- Anybody But Me on Grand Avenue
- pp. 28-29
- Kenwood 1964
- pp. 31-36
- Scene 2: Remembered
- God’s Chosen People
- pp. 39-44
- from Swallow the Fish
- pp. 46-47
- Migrations
- p. 48
- Glitter Lions
- pp. 49-58
- Autobiographia
- p. 59
- Shameless Lutherans
- p. 60
- Granny’s Story
- pp. 62-64
- Scene 3: Places
- from The Slide
- pp. 67-75
- Our Grandmothers
- pp. 76-77
- Tongue Swallow
- pp. 78-79
- Christmas Tale
- pp. 80-83
- Creating Change
- pp. 84-86
- All the Information We Have
- pp. 87-88
- As You Leave Me
- p. 101
- Home Delivery
- pp. 102-104
- Scene 4: Felt
- When a Cat Goes Out
- pp. 107-108
- Heartsong for Our Father
- pp. 109-111
- Love Across the Middle Passage
- pp. 115-122
- It’s Like a Miracle
- pp. 123-136
- At the End of Myself
- pp. 137-138
- Lilac Week
- pp. 139-140
- The Bank Robbery
- pp. 141-147
- Scene 5: Faces
- from Born to Be
- pp. 157-162
- Kwame J. C. McDonald
- pp. 163-165
- My Rites of Passage
- pp. 166-168
- I Hear Myself Say (MMA)
- pp. 171-172
- The Night Before
- pp. 173-179
- The Brawl in St. Paul
- pp. 180-182
- Akhenaten’s Dream: SunRise!
- pp. 183-187
- The Pork Chop Wars
- pp. 188-192
- Off to the Big City
- pp. 193-202
- Scene 6: Heard
- Stones and Sticks
- pp. 205-208
- Who Would You Be?
- pp. 209-210
- In the City, Homelessness
- pp. 211-213
- Smart Enough for Ford
- pp. 214-216
- Zombies, by Andre Lord
- pp. 217-220
- On Performing “Berlitz”
- pp. 223-233
- Scene 7: Spoken
- Inland Sea
- p. 244
- Preston’s Dream: Version No. 1
- pp. 245-247
- To Be Black in America
- pp. 248-250
- Don’t Blink
- pp. 251-252
- Unbuckling
- pp. 253-254
- Carrying Home
- p. 262
- Anniversary
- pp. 263-264
- Contributors
- pp. 279-284
Additional Information
ISBN
9780873519748
Related ISBN(s)
9780873519731
MARC Record
OCLC
902909760
Pages
304
Launched on MUSE
2015-02-06
Language
English
Open Access
No