Black Moods
Collected Poems
Frank Marshall Davis author John Edgar Tidwell editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University of Illinois Press
Published:29th May '07
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Recovering politically potent poems from the long-lost father of modern Black poetry
Black Moods collects for the first time all of Frank Marshall Davis’s extant published poems as well as his previously unpublished work. From sharp-edged sketches of Southside Chicago’s urban landscape to the prismatic world that lay beneath Hawaii’s placid surface, Davis’s muscular poems blend social, cultural, and political concerns--always shaped by his promise to “try to be as direct as good blues.”
John Edgar Tidwell’s introduction examines both Davis’s poetry and his politics, presenting a subtle portrait of a complex writer devoted to exposing discriminatory practices and reaffirming the humanity of the common people.
"What makes reading Davis' poetry worthwhile is his vivid use of imagery, which operates as the engine behind his writing. . . . Tidwell rightfully proclaims that Frank Marshall Davis is a powerful voice that should not be forgotten."--Michael V. Williams, Black Issues Book Review
"Davis is unforgettable when he is fierce. . . . The blues of Frank Marshall Davis weren't the blues of self-pity or mourning . . . but of tempered strength."--Roger Martin, The Topeka Capital-Journal
"With the publication of Black Moods, Tidwell calls not only for the inclusion of Frank Marshall Davis in the still-emerging canon of African American literature, but also for more searching analysis of the ongoing debates about art and politics that continue to shape our understanding of African American literary history. In this regard the publication of Black Moods is a cause for celebration; it adds another important building block to the ongoing project of retrieving a central legacy in twentieth-century African American writing."--African American Review
ISBN: 9780252074684
Dimensions: 235mm x 152mm x 20mm
Weight: 454g
352 pages