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I Name Me Name
Each piece in this dynamic poetic biography uses the voices of iconic figures past and present in a bold exploration of such hot topics as gender, race, and spirituality. The mode of presentation continually shifts―from dramatic monologue or prose poem, to prophetic rant―to provide fresh, moving viewpoints on subjects as various as the senility of a beloved grandmother and Michael Jackson's racial transformations.
120 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2007
19 people want to read
About the author
Opal Palmer Adisa
34 books22 followersOpal Palmer Adisa (born 1954) is a Jamaica-born award-winning poet, novelist, performance artist and educator. Anthologised in over 100 publications, she has been a regular performer of her work internationally.
Since 1993, Opal Palmer Adisa has taught literature and served as Chair of the Ethnic Studies/Cultural Diversity Program at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Dr. Adisa has two masters degrees from San Francisco State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She has previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses at California College of the Arts, Stanford University, University of Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. In the spring of 2010, she became a member of the teaching staff at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), St Croix Campus, and also served as editor of The Caribbean Writer, UVI’s famous journal of Caribbean literature, for 2 years.
An important element of her poetry is the use of nation language, about which she has said: "I have to credit [Louise] Bennett for granting me permission, so to speak, to write in Nation Language, because it was her usage that allowed me to see the beauty of our language. Moreover, there are just some things that don’t have the same sense of intimacy or color if not said in Nation language.... I use nation language when it is the only way and the best way to get my point across, to say what I mean from the center of my navel. But I also use it, to interrupt and disrupt standard English as s reminder to myself that I have another tongue, but also to jolt readers to listen and read more carefully, to glean from the language the Caribbean sensibilities that I am always pushing, sometimes subtly, other times more forcefully. Nation language allows me to infuse the poem with all of the smells and colors of home.
(from Wikipedia)
Since 1993, Opal Palmer Adisa has taught literature and served as Chair of the Ethnic Studies/Cultural Diversity Program at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Dr. Adisa has two masters degrees from San Francisco State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She has previously taught undergraduate and graduate courses at California College of the Arts, Stanford University, University of Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. In the spring of 2010, she became a member of the teaching staff at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), St Croix Campus, and also served as editor of The Caribbean Writer, UVI’s famous journal of Caribbean literature, for 2 years.
An important element of her poetry is the use of nation language, about which she has said: "I have to credit [Louise] Bennett for granting me permission, so to speak, to write in Nation Language, because it was her usage that allowed me to see the beauty of our language. Moreover, there are just some things that don’t have the same sense of intimacy or color if not said in Nation language.... I use nation language when it is the only way and the best way to get my point across, to say what I mean from the center of my navel. But I also use it, to interrupt and disrupt standard English as s reminder to myself that I have another tongue, but also to jolt readers to listen and read more carefully, to glean from the language the Caribbean sensibilities that I am always pushing, sometimes subtly, other times more forcefully. Nation language allows me to infuse the poem with all of the smells and colors of home.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 7, 2023
Opal Palmer Adisa is a master of her craft. Reconciling orality with visually innovative processes of writing, she delves into collective history and individuality, Blackness and the legacy of slavery and oppression as well as opportunities for joy and resistance. Her poems are written extremely vividly and give us a sense of both empowerment and justified outrage at the current state of injustice in our contemporary world.
I read this book years ago and re-read it recently and felt deeply affected and fueled with a sense of energy. The simultaneous importance of individuality and of roots expressed by the poet is striking and emblematic of her passionate decision to encourage joy and resistance.
But her poems are not simple celebrations of joy and resistance, they are also an opportunity to revisit individual biographies, some of which are extremely touching, her poem "Motown" stirring me to tears.
I read this book years ago and re-read it recently and felt deeply affected and fueled with a sense of energy. The simultaneous importance of individuality and of roots expressed by the poet is striking and emblematic of her passionate decision to encourage joy and resistance.
But her poems are not simple celebrations of joy and resistance, they are also an opportunity to revisit individual biographies, some of which are extremely touching, her poem "Motown" stirring me to tears.
Displaying 1 of 1 review