Nappy Edges

by Ntozake Shange

Poems deal with growing up, prejudice, Black heritage, sexism, and modern life

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Plays, African American, Race

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ntozake Shange (pronounced En-toe-ZAHK-kay SHONG-gay) was an African-American playwright, performance artist, and writer who is best known for her Obie Award winning play for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.

Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, and a Pushcart Prize.

Reviews

[Atena Oyadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the manuscripts etched into my very spirit (which happens when you read poems that you need to hear in adolescence). The poems are lovely and strong. Present and fortifying, though, of course, a little sad sometimes.

Plus, there's some prose at the beginning before the poems start that is outstanding (speeches, etc.).

[Correna Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like many of the poems in this collection but I definitely LOVED many more.

[Liz]

I lent this to someone and now I don't know where it is?

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit that I found the first section hard going. She's calling the first few pieces poetry, but they're really more essays about poetry and writing, and happen to be written in poetic stanzas. After that, though, I really liked many of the poems in the collection. Some of my favorites were "wow... yr just like a man!", "night letter #3", "serious lessons learned", "with no immediate cause", "the suspect is black & in his early 20's", "cross oceans into my heart", and "my father is a retired magician". Her best poems make me flinch or laugh out loud or surprise me by going somewhere different than I expected. I'm glad I read this and mean to include more poetry in my yearly reading lists.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isn't the point of poetry to recreate language, to muscle out new meaning, to push it to its limits to express what's real, overlooked, in need of attention, possible, true... Shange's definitely got that all going on in this bounteous collection which is just as adventurous whether she's writing prose or poetry, chronicling rage or love -- and always with her idiosyncratic style and spellings. She's as distinct as a poet as Lester Young was as saxophonist or Miles Davis as a trumpeter and isn't that also the point?

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zake wrote these poems when she was in her mid-twenties. With exuberance, passion, intelligence and of the times. They remind me of the 70's.

As a musician I appreciate her many references to jazz and pop music from that period [I guess we are of the same generation]. And her wit and sensitivity, fearlessness and hustle.

[Tauwan Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a love for all things black + the culture/our history; for the love of words, art, self-expression, connecting on a human level and communicating that runs through each and every poem in this collection; leaps off the page. Funky, expressive, free. She just be she, and it is inspiring and a fun, oftentimes wild ride. Much love. Highly recommend.

[Faith By Another Name · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requires a reread or two (and even then I’m sure a lot of this will go over my head—so many 70s musical references!). Favorites: “where the Mississippi meets the Amazon,” “resurrection of the daughter,” “five,” “between a dancer & a poet,” “with no immediate cause,” “advice,” and “an invitation to my friends”

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book of poetry I read all the way through! Her poems are so accessible and understandable, although there are so many jazz references that are over my head.

[ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

unbelievable. such a gifted thrilling wonderful poet

[Seth Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5. Erotic poetry mediated by the music of the art ensemble of chicago? Count me in. Great collection. I really really love Shange. We share a love for Joseph Jarman and Ayler and Touch.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

After reading Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf I had such high expectations for this collection of poetry. Unfortunately, I was a little let down by this collection. There were some poems that packed an emotional punch that I was expecting to get. However, a lot of the poems lacked that emotional punch for me. Shange's idiosyncratic misspelling of words did not bother me as much, this time, but at times, I was still annoyed by it.

[Gotham Interns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the varied voices of her poems. Some were powerfully voiced observations of gender relations to dynamic and soft tales of love and love lost. Shange conjures up vibrant visuals of artists at work and play, which I enjoyed. Her talent in weaving together a multitude of artistic genres also gave me some more readings to look into and that's always a great thing.

[wordLife]

i like a lot of what shange has written (for colored girls, sassafrass, cypress, and indigo, etc.), and i found this in a bookstore, so i want to give some of her poetry a go (although so much of her prose is simply poetic)...

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like angry, this is your book. Not as polished as her later work.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

trying to..i loved for colored girls so much i have to separate this from that..see this as its own work or art...working on it

[Tamara Hattis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best poetry book EVER!

[Eric Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://rantsravesreviews.homestead.co...

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read this book in over 20 years. It still feels as masterful, vibrant, heart wrenching, and authentic as it did when I first read it so long ago. I noticed that my favorite poems this time around are different than my favorites from before. And naturally, I pick up a lot more now than I did when I read it in my late teens. It makes me want to read more poetry in general and to revisit books I loved in the past more than I already do.