The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family
5/5
()
About this ebook
From the first publication of The Sweet Flypaper of Life by Langston Hughes and Roy DeCarava in 1967, to Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, collaborations between writers and photographers have been important in African American culture. These books examine the issues of identity and representation that have been so central to this group's efforts to thrive.
The Kamoinge Workshop photographers who contributed their work to this inspiring collection consist of names that have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and more. Names such as Anthony Barboza, Adger W. Cowans, Ming Smith Murray, Beuford Smith, John Pinderhuges, and many others. The Workshop’s mission was a response from the bias portrayals of African Americans in the media. They sought to shed positive light on their subjects, as well as to demystify Black life in America. And The Sweet Breath of Life does exactly that.
Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange (1948–2018) was a renowned playwright, poet, theater director, and novelist. Her body of work includes Obie Award–winning for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Some Sing Some Cry with Ifa Bayeza, and the posthumous Dance We Do: A Poet Explores Black Dance and I Am an Old Woman. Among her numerous accolades are the Langston Hughes Medal for Literature, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, the Pushcart Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s 2018 Shelley Memorial Award and three AUDELCO awards. Ms. Shange’s work has been nominated for a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy.
Related to The Sweet Breath of Life
Related ebooks
Wild Beauty: New and Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Woman: An Anthology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Savoring the Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Whiskey of Our Discontent: Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience and Change Agent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHard Times Require Furious Dancing: New Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Ink: Literary Legends on the Peril, Power, and Pleasure of Reading and Writing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5His Own Where Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vacation Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stepmotherland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Revolutionary Petunias: And Other Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not Without Laughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGood Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Some Sing, Some Cry: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Works of Pat Parker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Imagination: Black Voices on Black Futures Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Home: Social Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Art For You
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Creative, Inc.: The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shape of Ideas: An Illustrated Exploration of Creativity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art 101: From Vincent van Gogh to Andy Warhol, Key People, Ideas, and Moments in the History of Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And The Mountains Echoed Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Designer's Dictionary of Color Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Designer's Guide to Color Combinations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Botanical Drawing: A Step-By-Step Guide to Drawing Flowers, Vegetables, Fruit and Other Plant Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Draw and Paint Anatomy, All New 2nd Edition: Creating Lifelike Humans and Realistic Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art Models 10: Photos for Figure Drawing, Painting, and Sculpting Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lioness of Boston: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Electric State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Morpho: Anatomy for Artists Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The World Needs Your Art: Casual Magic to Unlock Your Creativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for The Sweet Breath of Life
3 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Sweet Breath of Life - Frank Stewart
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
The Sweet Breath of Life
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2004 by Frank Stewart and Ntozake Shange
Photography copyright © 2004 by Kamoinge Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN 0-7434-7897-5
eISBN 978-1-4516-1634-7
First Atria Books hardcover printing October 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ATRIA BOOKS is a trade mark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Dana Sloan
The list of illustrations appears on pages 173–74
Manufactured in China
For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com
Also by Ntozake Shange
If I Can Cook/You Know God Can
Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo
Liliane: Resurrection of the Daughter
Love Space Demands: A Continuing Saga
Betsy Brown
For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Also by Frank Stewart
Sweet Swing Blues: On the Road a Year with Wynton Marsalis and His Septet
Smokestack Lightning
Romare Bearden: Photographs by Frank Stewart
with great admiration and love
for these three women who let me know
in no uncertain terms who and what i come from:
to my grandmother, viola benzena murray owens
to my great aunt, effie owens josey
and to my great aunt, mary owens
i lived long enough to be held by you all.
love, ntozake
This book is dedicated to