Saturday, May 16, 2015

American Sublime

Completed reading American Sublime on May 15, 2015, by Elizabeth Alexander, copyright 2005.
These poems are outstanding in regard to variety: persona poems, historical narratives, jazz riffs, sonnets, elegies, and a sequence of ars poetica.  It involves an African American tradition that goes back to the rebellion in 1839 on the slave schooner Amistad in the Cuban Harbor, seized by the US Navy and towed to New London Connecticut.  Ended up a very interesting court case continuing in debate by the US Congress until the beginning of the civil war in 1861.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Crow Hollow

Crow Hollow
By Michael Wallace
Historical Novel
344 pages.
Completed reading it on 7-5-2015.

A long read about Boston and New England vs American Indians in the 1600's

Trail Of Broken Wings

Trail Of Broken Wings
By Sejal Badani
Completed reading on 5/4/2015.

A long, complex and sad story about a family from India.
Came to California to educate the 3 daughters.

Father was not kind to the family and ended up in a coma.
End of story has the family and a grand daughter going to India to take the father's ashes for placement in a holy river there.