What do you think?
Rate this book
You Better Believe It: Black Verse in English
- GenresPoetry
552 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 1973
3 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 15, 2012
Right from the start, You Better Believe it opens with a quote by Gabriel Celaya: "Maldigo la poesia concebida como un lujo cultural por los neutrales que, lavandose las manos, se desentienden y evaden. Maldigo la poesia de quien no toma partido, partido hasta mancharse" or "I detest the kind of poetry which is nothing but an intellectual pastime for the middle-of-the-roaders, who wash their hands and splits hairs to evade the issues. I detest poetry written by those do not take sides, do not commit themselves for the fear the dirt might stick." With an opening like that, you should know what you're in for.
Among the North American poets, we see a fairly wide representation from across the country, beginning with George Moses Horton's 'On Liberty and Slavery' and 'The poet's feeble petition.' Horton lived from 1797 to 1883 in North Carolina. You can hear many of the themes of contemporary black verse present within Horton's own work and it reminds us of how many issues continue to resonate across the centuries.
Gathered together and published in 1973, there are many you'd expect, such as W.E.B. Dubois, James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Chinua Achebe, Langston Hughes, Wole Soyinka and Nikki Giovanni also have pieces within here. There are many of the poems that have since become familiar in other anthologies and collections, but also such a range of diverse visions that it's a staggering and often powerful reminder of how much human voices are creating.
Nearly 40 years later, I think this is an exceptional collection that succeeds more often than not to provide a snapshot of the range and styles of black verse of the 20th century at that point. It points to where the poetry has gone, and could have gone.
It's a powerful anthology, and definitely recommended for readers from any culture.
Among the North American poets, we see a fairly wide representation from across the country, beginning with George Moses Horton's 'On Liberty and Slavery' and 'The poet's feeble petition.' Horton lived from 1797 to 1883 in North Carolina. You can hear many of the themes of contemporary black verse present within Horton's own work and it reminds us of how many issues continue to resonate across the centuries.
Gathered together and published in 1973, there are many you'd expect, such as W.E.B. Dubois, James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Chinua Achebe, Langston Hughes, Wole Soyinka and Nikki Giovanni also have pieces within here. There are many of the poems that have since become familiar in other anthologies and collections, but also such a range of diverse visions that it's a staggering and often powerful reminder of how much human voices are creating.
Nearly 40 years later, I think this is an exceptional collection that succeeds more often than not to provide a snapshot of the range and styles of black verse of the 20th century at that point. It points to where the poetry has gone, and could have gone.
It's a powerful anthology, and definitely recommended for readers from any culture.
Displaying 1 of 1 review