African Sleeping Sickness: Stories and Poems

by Wanda Coleman

Book Overview

"Coleman is one of the decade's most moral poets, showing us in feverishly focused first- and third-person dramatic monologues the grim life of L.A.'s streets. It's impossible to paraphrase her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876858132
• ISBN13: 9780876858134
• Release Date: December 1990
• Publisher: Black Sparrow Pr
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

This poetry don't play

This book is actually two: 1979's "Mad Dog Black Lady" and the 1990 "African Sleeping Sickness". Both are incredibly powerful collections of poetry (with some stories), and the sheer volume of work contained here (328 pgs, with almost a poem for every 2 on average) is almost enough to make you OD on poetry. The work is strong stuff, with stories of love, sex and danger throughout, and Coleman's voice is so hardcore compelling you don't know if you should read the bok or run from it.Captures the biting energy of her short stories in poetic form. Wow.