Sing a Black Girls Song, Ntozake Shange
Sing a Black Girls Song, Ntozake Shange
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Sing a Black Girl's Song
The Unpublished Work of Ntozake Shange

Author: Ntozake Shange, Imani Perry, Tarana Burke

Narrator: Alfre Woodard, D. Woods, Regina Taylor, Lynn Whitfield, Okwui Okpokwasili, Ifa Bayeza, Imani Perry, Robin Miles, Tarana Burke, Savannah Shange

Unabridged: 9 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Legacy Lit

Published: 09/12/2023


Synopsis

The Millions “Most Anticipated” Books of 2023

Never-before-seen unpublished works by award-winning American literary icon Ntozake Shange, featuring essays, plays, and poems from the archives of the seminal Black feminist writer who stands alongside giants like Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, curated by National Book Award winner Imani Perry with a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Tarana Burke.
 
            In the late ’60s, Ntozake Shange was a student at Barnard College discovering her budding talent as a writer, publishing in her school’s literary journal, and finding her unique voice. By the time she left us in 2018,  Shange had scorched blazing trails across countless pages and stages, redefining genre and form as we know them, each verse, dance, and song a love letter to Black women and girls, and the community at large.
            Sing a Black Girl’s Song is a new posthumous collection of Shange’s unpublished poems, essays, and plays from throughout the life of the seminal Black feminist writer. In these pages we meet young Shange, learn the moments that inspired for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf…, travel with an eclectic family of musicians, sit on “The Couch” opposite Shange’s therapist, and discover plays written after for colored girls’ international success. Sing a Black Girl’s Song houses, in their original form, the literary rebel’s politically charged verses from the Black Arts Movement era alongside her signature tender rhythm and cadence  that capture the minutia and nuance of Black life. Sing a Black Girl’s Song is the continuation of a literary tradition that has bolstered generations of writers and a long-lasting gift from one of the fiercest and most highly celebrated artists of our time.   
 

About Ntozake Shange

Ntozake Shange, fearless in her quest to affirm the realities of women of color, demonstrates that her name reflects her approach to both her art and her life. In the Zulu language of Xhosa, ntozake means “she who comes with her own things,” and shange means “she who walks like a lion.” She has written numerous novels, works of poetry, essays and screenplays, a plethora of critically acclaimed plays, as well as children’s books. She is the recipient of the 2016 Langston Hughes Medal.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shawberry Likes To Read on August 19, 2023

Thank you Grand Central Publishing, Legacy Lit, and Netgalley for this ARC #SingaBlackGirlsSong #NetGalley. This unpublished works is a beautiful collection of essays, plays, and poems. These original pieces showcase not only her talent but glimpses into the many facets of her being. As her involvem......more

Goodreads review by Sonja on March 07, 2024

Sing a Black Girl’s Song by Ntozake Shange is a tremendous collection—I was going to say formidable but no, it’s a treasure full of the most stunning precious stones and gems. These are previously uncollected poems, plays, prose full of shine and insight and wisdom. I feel honored to have read this......more

Goodreads review by Books Amongst Friends on June 26, 2024

Having read another posthumous work recently, this is how you do it. This is a beautiful collection of unpublished works from a literary giant. We're not only getting poems but also essays, plays, and glimpses into her life, allowing us to transition through time with her. If you are familiar with he......more

Goodreads review by Joy- on March 20, 2024

For the Love of Literature Sing a Black Girl Song is a posthumous collection of works by Ntozake Shange. This collection is a gem of literature, comprising unpublished works by Ntozake. The book provides a deep insight into many aspects of her life, from her family dynamics and mental health to her u......more

Goodreads review by amarachireads on September 16, 2023

This was a beautiful collection of poetry and prose by Ntozake Shange. In this collection of Ntozake’s unpublished works there are different parts that cover different aspects and experiences of Ntozake’s life. In some parts I saw what impacted her as a woman of color and the struggles she faced. I’......more


Quotes

"Previously unseen writing from an essential Black author. . . Those acquainted with the author will see familiar themes emerge as she engages with colonialism, code switching, white supremacy, liberation politics, sexism, sexual violence, and collective trauma. She writes of desire and despair and revolution and Black joy using language and imagery that she was taught to hide from white people. . . Shange speaks candidly of her struggles with mental health and her years in psychoanalysis, and she insists that therapy made her a better writer. . . The literary value of these works extends far beyond the insight they offer into Shange’s life and artistic career."—Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Raw, illuminating and revelatory, Ntozake’s Shange’s bold and lyrical writing gave urgent voice to a new generation of young Black writers like myself who were emboldened by the honesty and beauty of her poetry, plays, and prose to tell our own stories.”—Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright

"With Sing A Black Girl’s Song, Imani Perry offers intimacy with Ntozake Shange as a peerless, prolific writer in process. Here is a brilliant multi-genre gathering from Shange’s archive that maps her political and creative maturation on her quest for self-actualization as a Black woman in America participating in transnational Black liberation movements. Brimming with lyrical incandescence, sensuality and self-regard, Shange urges us to “keep an eye” on ourselves, documenting not only what is happening to us, but within us and through us individually and collectively."—Erika Dickerson-Despenza, playwright and Inaugural Resident of the Ntozake Shange Social Justice Playwriting Residency