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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
I don't read a lot of poetry - but this was a thoughtful and interesting progression through Chicago's history.
Fantastic, accessible poetry inspired by Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Kevin Coval's poems span 500+ years of Chicago history, focusing on those who build the city of big shoulders, and taking to task those who have benefited most from that work but have yet to offer anything in return.
#TeachLivingPoets
#TeachLivingPoets
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Poems that flow on a good beat AND teach me more about Chicago’s history as a haven for the people? YES PLEASE
I have fEeLiNgS about Chicago, but it’s hard to deny that’s where I grew up and I know so little about it. I know the broad strokes, but surprisingly, this gut punch of a book taught me some of the details. There are a couple poems in here that ended weak for my taste, but overall it’s a good read. If you really want to know Chicago, this could be a good start.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I love the concept for this book of poems - inspired, of course, by the late, great Howard Zinn. But in some ways, I suspect, the volume has a lot of allusions that are only or primarily appreciated by Chicagoans. Still, it's a lovely read to these poems, which are ordered chronologically, and which take as the starting point the indigenous history of the region, which has, of course, been erased by the kinds of history books one reads in school. There are plenty of homages to the Chicago greats - Fred Hampton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Studs Terkel and others. And there are a couple of brilliant poems attacking Rahm Israel Emanuel, Chicago's former mayor, who presided over so many police killings of African Americans.