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Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain
Hip-hop's favorite poet and Grammy Award–winning artist J. Ivy bares his soul in this inspirational memoir of pain transformed into healing and empowerment.
J. Ivy is a true pioneer and trendsetter who's bridged the worlds of hip-hop and poetry through his appearances on HBO's Def Poetry and his collaborations with Kanye West and Jay-Z. But throughout his success, he carried with him the pain of being abandoned by his father and growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Chicago's South Side.
So he sat down with pen and paper and processed his pain the only way he knew how—through poetry. The resulting poem, Dear Father, became his vehicle of forgiveness and healing. It is a pivotal poem that has touched and inspired the lives of millions.
Fused with his signature raw lyricism and street consciousness, J. Ivy's memoir shows what it takes to deal with your emotions before your emotions deal with you. His story is personal yet universal, and will inspire others to channel whatever pain they have experienced into their own powerful gift of expression.
J. Ivy is a true pioneer and trendsetter who's bridged the worlds of hip-hop and poetry through his appearances on HBO's Def Poetry and his collaborations with Kanye West and Jay-Z. But throughout his success, he carried with him the pain of being abandoned by his father and growing up in the tough neighborhoods of Chicago's South Side.
So he sat down with pen and paper and processed his pain the only way he knew how—through poetry. The resulting poem, Dear Father, became his vehicle of forgiveness and healing. It is a pivotal poem that has touched and inspired the lives of millions.
Fused with his signature raw lyricism and street consciousness, J. Ivy's memoir shows what it takes to deal with your emotions before your emotions deal with you. His story is personal yet universal, and will inspire others to channel whatever pain they have experienced into their own powerful gift of expression.
- GenresPoetryNonfictionMemoir
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2015
8 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
J. Ivy
3 books6 followersJ. Ivy is a hip-hop poet, musician, actor and speaker. J. grew up on Chicago's South Side and first discovered his affinity for poetry after a routine school writing assignment. Today, he is a leader in the hip-hop poetry community, having won a Peabody award for his performance on Russel Simmons' Def Poetry. He was also awarded a Grammy for his contribution with Jay-Z on Kanye West's The College Dropout album. J. has collaborated with John Legend, RZA, The Last Poets, The Roots, Common, Mos Def, The Black Crowes, Bob Dylan, and many more.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 27, 2015
“I just didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why I was left behind without a father around. Why?! Every question added flame to the fire inside.”
James Ivy Richardson, better known as J. Ivy, is a poet, spoken word artist, recording artist, and author shares memories of his childhood, admiration of his parents and siblings, and the life he lived as he grew up in Chicago. The book revolves around feelings towards his father and not dealing with this issue until his college years with the art of poetry. J. Ivy was not new to poetry; in fact, he began writing in high school with the encouragement of his English teacher and the support of his mother.
J. Ivy gives an in-depth look into his life without the smoke and screen you might find in some autobiographies. He lays everything on the line out into the open for the world to see. He takes you on a personal journey of his life with the difficulties, without the sugar or candy coating, as he learns several of life’s lessons including forgiveness.
Dear Father, written well with openness, flows beautifully with spotted poetry and an opportunity to scan downloads of several live performances by J. Ivy. I highly recommended for anyone seeking the fierce drive behind J. Ivy, the man.
I received this book free from Atria/Beyond Words Publishers through the Net Galley reviewer program in exchange for an honest opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines.
James Ivy Richardson, better known as J. Ivy, is a poet, spoken word artist, recording artist, and author shares memories of his childhood, admiration of his parents and siblings, and the life he lived as he grew up in Chicago. The book revolves around feelings towards his father and not dealing with this issue until his college years with the art of poetry. J. Ivy was not new to poetry; in fact, he began writing in high school with the encouragement of his English teacher and the support of his mother.
J. Ivy gives an in-depth look into his life without the smoke and screen you might find in some autobiographies. He lays everything on the line out into the open for the world to see. He takes you on a personal journey of his life with the difficulties, without the sugar or candy coating, as he learns several of life’s lessons including forgiveness.
Dear Father, written well with openness, flows beautifully with spotted poetry and an opportunity to scan downloads of several live performances by J. Ivy. I highly recommended for anyone seeking the fierce drive behind J. Ivy, the man.
I received this book free from Atria/Beyond Words Publishers through the Net Galley reviewer program in exchange for an honest opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines.
April 22, 2015
Such a beautiful and healing experience! It truly is a great investment in the thought of getting through emotional pain on the subject of fatherhood and learning to forgive. I am about to write a letter to my father now at dearfatherletters.com
January 17, 2015
This is a book that just draws you into the story. Very well written with so much feeling & passion of his life. Easy to read and easy to understand the story. A "stop & think about it" book.
March 3, 2015
Despite the fact that I am not a hip-hop fan, I really enjoyed this book. I am actually not much of a poetry person either, I guess, though there are exceptions. I much prefer a dramatic electric guitar solo over a spoken poetry bridge, and where I grew up the race issues and class issues centered around our Hispanic population and the way non-Hispanic people reacted to that portion of our community, resulting in a different culture from what J.Ivy is responding to with his poetry. So, I am not likely to be buying any J.Ivy albums after reading his book.
But, the nice thing about a book is that it steps outside the musical genre of the musician who wrote it. The ideas and feelings that J. Ivy writes about are more universally understandable, and I was quite impressed with how beautifully articulate this author is in his prose. This book is a memoir, incorporating poetry, and explores the author's relationship with his father, how he became a successful hip-hop artist, and lots in between. I like that this book is a bit performative as well, with several links included to performances of poems in the text.
My copy of this book, which I won through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway, will be going next to my hip-hop artist brother, who will no doubt get a lot more out of this book than I did, but I definitely think this book is a great read for a much broader audience than just the hip-hop community.
But, the nice thing about a book is that it steps outside the musical genre of the musician who wrote it. The ideas and feelings that J. Ivy writes about are more universally understandable, and I was quite impressed with how beautifully articulate this author is in his prose. This book is a memoir, incorporating poetry, and explores the author's relationship with his father, how he became a successful hip-hop artist, and lots in between. I like that this book is a bit performative as well, with several links included to performances of poems in the text.
My copy of this book, which I won through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway, will be going next to my hip-hop artist brother, who will no doubt get a lot more out of this book than I did, but I definitely think this book is a great read for a much broader audience than just the hip-hop community.
January 31, 2017
The part that might be surprising is that even though his poetry has earned him a Grammy, Peabody, Clio, and NAACP Image Award, it's his moral right after his poem, in the crescendo of the story, that's even more fascinating to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews