Ntozake Shange war eine afroamerikanische Dramatikerin und Performancekünstlerin, deren Werk sich durch eine scharfsinnige Auseinandersetzung mit der Identität und den Erfahrungen schwarzer Frauen auszeichnet. Mit ihrer einzigartigen Mischung aus Poesie, Tanz und Dialog durchbrach sie die Grenzen des traditionellen Theaters und der Literatur. Ihre Schriften befassen sich häufig mit Themen wie Widerstandsfähigkeit, Heilung und kollektivem Gedächtnis und bieten tiefe Einblicke in die Komplexität der menschlichen Verfassung. Shange hinterließ mit ihrem mutigen und emotional resonanten Erzählstil unauslöschliche Spuren in der amerikanischen Literatur und darstellenden Kunst.
Drei «Schwarze Schwestern» aus Charleston/South Carolina führen uns vor, auf welch unterschiedliche Weisen sich eine Frau schöpferisch mit dem Leben verbünden kann. – Eine Geschichte, randvoll mit Poesie und seltsamen Begebenheiten, kuriosen Kochrezepten und schönster weiblicher Logik.
Ntozake Shange’s classic, award-winning play encompassing the wide-ranging experiences of Black women, now with introductions by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward and Broadway director Camille A. Brown. From its inception in California in 1974 to its Broadway revival in 2022, the Obie Award–winning for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf has excited, inspired, and transformed audiences all over the country for nearly fifty years. Passionate and fearless, Shange’s words reveal what it meant to be a woman of color in the 20th century. First published in 1975, when it was praised by The New Yorker for “encompassing…every feeling and experience a woman has ever had,” for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf will be read and performed for generations to come. Now with new introductions by Jesmyn Ward and Broadway director Camille A. Brown, and one poem not included in the original, here is the complete text of a groundbreaking dramatic prose poem that resonates with unusual beauty in its fierce message to the world.
From Reconstruction to both world wars, from the Harlem Renaissance to Vietnam, from spirituals and arias to torch songs and the blues, Some Sing, Some Cry brings to life the monumental story of one American family’s journey from slavery into freedom, from country into city, from the past to the future, bright and blazing ahead. Real - life sisters Ntozake Shange, award-winning author of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, and Ifa Bayeza, award - winning playwright of The Ballad of Emmett Till, achieve nothing less than a modern classic in this story of seven generations of women, and the men and music in their lives. Opening dramatically at a sprawling plantation just off the South Carolina coast, recently emancipated slave Bette Mayfield quickly says her good - byes before fleeing for Charleston with her granddaughter, Eudora, in tow. She and Eudora carve out lives for themselves in the bustling port city as fortune - teller and seamstress. Eudora marries, and the Mayfield line grows and becomes an incredibly strong, musically gifted family, a family that is led, protected, and inspired by its women. Some Sing, Some Cry chronicles their astonishing passage through the watershed events of American history.
With an introduction by Bernardine Evaristo
This groundbreaking choropoem explores the diverse experiences of black women, weaving together powerful narratives that challenge traditional storytelling. Its innovative structure and lyrical style have garnered critical acclaim, making it a significant work in contemporary literature. The book delves into themes of identity, resilience, and empowerment, offering a profound reflection on the intersection of race and gender. Its influence extends beyond literature, inspiring conversations and movements around social justice and representation.
Ntozake Shange-the cultural icon whose play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, was adapted into a feature film-fiercely confronts issues relating to race and feminism in this beautiful bilingual (English and Spanish) collection of new and selected poems.