The Sweet Breath of Life
ISBN 978-0743478977 | | |
The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family is a 2004 photographic poetic narrative by
Summary
The book depicts the various aspects of everyday urban African-American life through poetic narrative. Through poetic narrative and accompanying photographs, the book deals with various themes such as religion, identity, and representation. [citation needed]
Contributing photographers
- Frank Stewart
- Anthony Barboza
- Adger Cowans
- Gerald Cyrus
- Louis Draper
- Albert Fennar
- Collette Fournier
- James Francis
- Steve Martin
- Toni Parks
- Herbert Randall
- Eli Reed
- Herb Robinson
- Beuford Smith
- Ming Smith
- June Truesdale
- Budd Williams
Reception
Critical reception for The Sweet Breath of Life has been positive and reviewers have compared the work to that of Langston Hughes and Roy DeCarava.[2][3][4]
Black Issues Book Review judges some of the photos to be outdated and that some of the poems felt more like journalism than poetry, [clarification needed] but also that when the poems and photography worked together they were "powerfully made" and "breathtaking".[5] Curve rated the book highly, citing the photography as one of the book's highlights.[6] The Tri-State Defender praised the project as "a wonderful blend of words and images that give definition to the beauty and wonder of contemporary African-American culture."[7]
References
- ^ "The Sweet Breath of Life (review)". Library Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ "The Sweet Breath of Life (review)". Booklist. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ "THE SWEET BREATH OF LIFE (review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ Nicosia, Gerald. "Fear not, Ferlinghetti/Poets and poetry are thriving in the Bay Area, as three practitioners' new collections show". Sfgate. SF Gate. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ Jones, Patricia Spears (November 2004). "The Sweet Breath of Life: A Poetic Narrative of the African-American Family (review)". Black Issues Book Review. 6 (6). Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ Voo, Jocelyn (June 1, 2005). "Other page turners.(in the stacks)(Lipstick Jihad)(Book Review)". Curve (subscription required). Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ Butler, Tim. "BOOKSCAPE". Tri-State Defender (subscription required). Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.