Love Conjure/Blues

by Sharon Bridgforth, Omi Osun Joni L. Jones (Contributor)

Fiction. African American Studies. LGBT Studies. Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Drama. LOVE CONJURE/BLUES is performance literature/a novel that is constructed for breath. The piece is not meant to be theater/a concert/an opera or a staged reading but is. LOVE CONJURE/BLUES places the fiction- form inside a traditional Black American voice/inviting dramatic interpretation and movement within the fit of a highly literary text filled with folktales poetry haints prophecy song and oral history. LOVE CONJURE/BLUES considers a range of possibilities of gender expression and sexuality within a southern/rural/Black working class context that examines the blues as a way of life/as ritual in concert with Ancient practices and new creations. The past the present the future the living and the dead co-exist together/at the same time in a weave of dreams/Prayers/Love/Spirit expressed."

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Novels

89 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Bridgforth is RedBone Press author of" love conjure/blues" and the Lambda Literary Award winning, "the bull-jean stories". She, Omi Osun Joni L. Jones and Lisa L. Moore are co-editors of "Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project", University of Texas Press. Anthologies that feature her work include: "solo/black/woman: Scripts, Interviews, and Essays", Eds. E. Patrick Johnson and Ramon Rivera-Servera, Northwestern University Press; "Blacktino Queer Performance", Eds. E. Patrick Johnson and Ramon Rivera-Servera, Duke University Press; ."Windy City Queer: GLBTQ Dispatches from the Third Coast", Ed Kathie Bergquist, University of Wisconsin Press; "First Person Queer: Who We Are (So Far), Eds. Richard Labonte & Lawrence Schim"el, Arsenal Pulp Press; "New Monologues For Women By Women", Eds. Liz Engelman & Tori Haring-Smith, Heinemann; and "Is This Forever, Or What?: Poems & Paintings From Texas", Ed. Naomi Shihab Nye, Greenwillow. Her "River See: Theatrical Jazz Performance Installation" script is featured in Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, Issue 43.1. Bridgforth's current project, "dat Black Mermaid Man Lady/Home" will premiere in 2018. An imagined "dat Black Mermaid Man Lady/Home" performance is published in "Imagined Theatres: Writing for a Theoretical Stage".

Reviews

[Ra Malika Imhotep · Rating 5 out of 5]

a vernacular trip into a bluesy black queer world.

[Kevin Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book as a part of a ethnic lit class, specifically focusing on queer writers of color, and while I initially found the book's unique style challenging (it is a performance novel, so it's not straight pose, but not necessarily poetry either), the more I read the more I was pulled in. There are so many unique voices in love conjure, as well as stories of pain, love, and redemption, and they all come together so beautifully to tell the story of a rural Black/queer community, as well as how its people create community, a place for healing, and a place for free expression. If you find yourself having trouble initially, I recommend making a character guide that you can reference while reading, as well as notes that explain the different fonts and which characters certain fonts represent. I promise you it will be worth your time!

[Brittany Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book back in college but decided to reread it again. and wowwww rereading it years later was like reading it for the first time again. this book is so beautiful and world-opening it’s almost ridiculous. it’s a short read, but i took my time to make it last as long as i could. it oozes blackness, queerness, sex and sexiness. even the act of reading it is sensual. i love how poetic it depicts the characters and their respective struggles while still showing how much beautiful people are in struggle. also: the names are absolutely exquisite. and the vernacular!!! reminds me of home.

[Stephanie Helene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trippy book, so not what I’m used to reading in terms of the performance style that this is written in, it took a while for me to get into it, but there were some really notable sections that I enjoyed.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and emotional

[Ching-In · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely find Sharon Bridgforth so inspiring!

I loved the idea of the novel as performance and the collective voices that came through. It revolutionized the way I think about what is possible with novels. Transformative of life & writing:-)

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep in mind that this book is meant for performance.