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566 reviews for:
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf
Ntozake Shange
4.29 AVERAGE
566 reviews for:
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf
Ntozake Shange
4.29 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
I re-read this play as a part of my quest to re-read 12 "classics" by Black women writers in 2020. I probably read this first as a teenager though I remember first seeing it performed when I was in college. This is something that hits differently now that I've lived more and had more experiences a Black woman. The pace of this play, for some reason, seemed slower than I remembered and the words feel less precise though the impact is still there. I'll read it again in a few years to see how life shifts my perceptions of this world.
I read the most recent edition and Shange's forward was essential in my appreciation of the text as a whole. She discusses how the work morphed slowly into the final version which we read today. Inspired by her forward, after I read the most recent addition, I also listened to the 1976 Broadway Original Cast recording that can be found on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5T2FXEzmJI&list=WL&index=2&ab_channel=reelblack . I would highly recommend both reading and listening to the choreopoem; it really is meant to be performed. But more interesting is how much the original material has changed! New poems were added to address the AIDs epidemic in the 1997 reprint version, and the order of the poems continuously changes and alters the development of themes and rhythm throughout the poem into something new altogether. Would so recommend, not only because it is essential reading at this point, but because it still holds just as much power today as it did in 1976 (not to mention it is so blissfully smooth to listen too). PICK YOUR EDITION WISELY <3
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
so so so beautiful. i can only imagine how wonderful it would be to see this performed live
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I wont review this until I see this performed later today.
What I will say are some of my thoughts through out this book. It does feel powerful. there were parts of where I really connected with the book, but since i'm not really the poetry person unless I read it out loud or see it performed it is harder for me to get through. But it is powerful. They formatting was also not my favorite. There'd be parts that you'd be able to get through the story smoothly, but then there where parts where'd you question "what just happen? All the words are together now???"
But this isn't my final review. I WILL be back later today.
What I will say are some of my thoughts through out this book. It does feel powerful. there were parts of where I really connected with the book, but since i'm not really the poetry person unless I read it out loud or see it performed it is harder for me to get through. But it is powerful. They formatting was also not my favorite. There'd be parts that you'd be able to get through the story smoothly, but then there where parts where'd you question "what just happen? All the words are together now???"
But this isn't my final review. I WILL be back later today.