Learning How To Fly

by Etienne Toussaint

★ A gripping young adult adventure that will appeal to fans of Long Way Down and The Poet X. ★

Etienne Toussaint is a distinctive, dynamic, and powerful new voice in American social and cultural commentary.

Mixing a colloquial voice with textured imagery, Learning How to Fly is his gripping debut poetry collection, a coming of age novel-in-verse that explores the complexity of belonging to a community that celebrates black humanity while searching for acceptance in a world that seemingly disdains black lives.

The stories of an ambitious corporate associate from Baltimore, a quixotic journalist from New York City, and a frustrated police officer from the Sea Islands of South Carolina collide in the nation’s capital where tragedy reminds us that many struggle to fly when pushed over the edge. With poetic narrative storytelling that is simultaneously personal and political, Learning How to Fly grapples with the question of how one can attain the heralded American Dream while carrying the heavy load of history and bearing the deep scars of racism and oppression.

Toussaint's work rises above the chaos in an age of social unrest, enabling the reader to discover amidst vulnerable moments of intense beauty and searing pain the unifying power of empathy.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 3, 2018

Reviews

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting writing style with amazing imagery.

[Ebony Toussaint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I love the imagery gained from the use of such descriptive words. I also love the inclusion of West Indian culture and Gullah culture. Very well written.