Blues and Bliss

The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Poetry History & Criticism, Biography & Memoir, Literary, Poetry
Cover of the book Blues and Bliss by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke ISBN: 9781554586844
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Publication: April 7, 2011
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Language: English
Author: Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
ISBN: 9781554586844
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Publication: April 7, 2011
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Language: English

Blues singer, preacher, cultural critic, exile, Africadian, high modernist, spoken word artist, Canadian poet—these are but some of the voices of George Elliott Clarke. In a selection of Clarke’s best work from his early poetry to his most recent, Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke offers readers an impressive cross-section of those voices. Jon Paul Fiorentino’s introduction focuses on this polyphony, his influences—Derek Walcott, Amiri Baraka, and the canon of literary English from Shakespeare to Yeats—and his “voice throwing,” and shows how the intersections here produce a “troubling” of language. He sketches Clarke’s primary interest in the negotiation of cultural space through adherence to and revision of tradition and on the finding of a vernacular that begins in exile, especially exile in relation to African-Canadian communities.

In the afterword, Clarke, in an interesting re-spin of Fiorentino’s introduction, writes with patented gusto about how his experiences have contributed to multiple sounds and forms in his work. Decrying any grandiose notions of theory, he presents himself as primarily a songwriter.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Blues singer, preacher, cultural critic, exile, Africadian, high modernist, spoken word artist, Canadian poet—these are but some of the voices of George Elliott Clarke. In a selection of Clarke’s best work from his early poetry to his most recent, Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke offers readers an impressive cross-section of those voices. Jon Paul Fiorentino’s introduction focuses on this polyphony, his influences—Derek Walcott, Amiri Baraka, and the canon of literary English from Shakespeare to Yeats—and his “voice throwing,” and shows how the intersections here produce a “troubling” of language. He sketches Clarke’s primary interest in the negotiation of cultural space through adherence to and revision of tradition and on the finding of a vernacular that begins in exile, especially exile in relation to African-Canadian communities.

In the afterword, Clarke, in an interesting re-spin of Fiorentino’s introduction, writes with patented gusto about how his experiences have contributed to multiple sounds and forms in his work. Decrying any grandiose notions of theory, he presents himself as primarily a songwriter.

More books from Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Cover of the book Must Write by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Canadian Social Policy, Fifth Edition by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Textual Mothers/Maternal Texts by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Subversive Action by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book The Doctrine of Humanity in the Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Spirituality in Social Work and Education by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book The Horn of Africa as Common Homeland by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book From Desolation to Reconstruction by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Soldiers of Song by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Anne of Tim Hortons: Globalization and the Reshaping of Atlantic-Canadian Literature by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Haiti by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book The Independence of South Sudan by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Writing in Our Time by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book The Theology of the Chinese Jews, 1000–1850 by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
Cover of the book Leaving Fundamentalism: Personal Stories by Jon Paul Fiorentino, George Elliott Clarke
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy