Sleeping Under the Tree of Life

by Sheree Renée Thomas

Sleeping Under the Tree of Life evokes the realm of ancestral knowledge with a deep respect for the natural world, a love of language, and an invitation for survival, and Who survives without being transformed? Beneath luminous layers of imagery and mythology, science and nature, fantasy and the recounting of history, is the grace and tenderness of a poet's heart, the unwavering gaze of an oracle's vision, and the dreamlike whimsy of a storyteller's mind. Hope, love, and hard truths spring from these pages of a writer whose imagination conjures an unforgettable journey. Readers enter these poems and stories the way some souls enter church, a quiet garden, or a stand of trees--for rest, for the blessing of silence and reverie, for beauty if not redemption. Review The lyrical gifts of Thomas, editor of the celebrated Dark Matter anthologies, are on full display in this collection of poetry and short fiction.... She invokes the rhythms of African-American ring shouts and the dense, humid atmosphere of the American South. Her stories include reinventions of mythology, such as Medusa and Arachne ambushing the goddess Athena in revenge in "Arachne & Medusa Jump Athena," and haunting modern folktales about women with their roots in rivers (in "River, Clap Your Hands") and swamp trees (in "Tree of the Forest Seven Bells"), with references to recent natural disasters and human-created pollution. Thomas's skill with poetry and prose is remarkable, and even the shortest poems in this volume contain ideas and images that will linger in the reader's mind. Publishers Weekly

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2016

About the author

Sheree Thomas — also credited as Sheree R. Thomas and Sheree Renée Thomas — is an American writer, book editor and publisher.

Thomas is the editor of the Dark Matter anthology (2000), in which are collected works by some of the best African-American writers in the genres of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Among the many notable authors included are Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Charles R. Saunders, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Jewelle Gomez, Ishmael Reed, Kalamu ya Salaam, Robert Fleming, Nalo Hopkinson, George S. Schuyler and W. E. B. Du Bois. Dark Matter was honored with the 2005 and the 2001 World Fantasy Award and named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Thomas is the publisher of Wanganegresse Press, and has contributed to national publications including the Washington Post "Book World", Black Issues Book Review, QBR, and Hip Mama. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Ishmael Reed's Konch, Drumvoices Revue, Obsidian III, African Voices, storySouth, and other literary journals, and has received Honorable Mention in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 16th and 17th annual collections. A native of Memphis, she lives in New York City.

Reviews

[BookBlerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a gorgeous collection of poems and short stories that explore the Black experience in a way that is literally and metaphorically down to earth.

Favorite poems reinterpreted Greek myths with the boldness of a Black girl from the streets, describe Black women as actual mystical force of nature, and describe nature in vivid lines. The stories feature different Black protagonists with a connection to magic and nature.

This book urges Black readers to connect to their roots and summon up their inner magic to thrive. It was a powerful read that will stay with me.

[Bogi Takács]

Not reviewing it because I originally edited and/or published some of the pieces in it! :) But I remain very happy about that.

Source of the book: Spouseperson got it from Aqueduct

[Linda Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of fiction and poetry where Thomas unpeels reality to show the magic and mythical origins inside the world we know. From “The Tongue We Dream In”: ‘Our first language was wet / mournful questions rang / like falling stars / in red clay throats.’ Each piece sings gently as Thomas masterfully uses language to lift our souls into a dream state where birth, life, death reflect the light and dark of the universe. From “Dawning”: ‘Something grows / in the sharp, brutal darkness / not a tree but its shadow…light rises to the tops of stones / the throat of the lake fills / with the dark, slick skin / of time…’ I enjoyed this flight into the magic beneath reality.

[Starry Night]

For a preview, check out this story offered by Apex Magazine:
www.apex-magazine.com/tree-of-the-for...

My review: It is an atmospheric and scenery dense story that contains this quote:
"People are the cancer. Not all of them, of course, but enough of the wrong ones to wreck the balance. The movement needs people with heart. Spirits committed to systemic solutions, long-game change."

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue my journey to understand poetry. The language in this book is beautiful, the voice is strong, and even the short stories are prose poetry. Possibly my favorite was “River, Clap Your Hands” which is melancholy prose poetry about flooding and loss. I loved the poetry in the seed ship pied piper tale “The Grassdreaming Tree.” The closing story “Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” is lush and hypnotic. I can see why this one has been reprinted a lot, and this book is worth picking up just for this story with all the prose being icing on the cake. Or grab this story in the anthology Sycorax’s Daughters if you want a variety of voices. There is no wrong answer other than not reading.