EVERYWHERE FACES EVERYWHERE

by James Berry ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1997

Like ""fife-man"" in the selection ""Haiku Moments: 2,"" Berry (When I Dance, 1991, etc.) walks with flute music in his head, filling this mosaic-like collection of poetry with childhood characters, nature scenes, and the ""beat drums"" and ""sax groans"" of music and street sounds. In five sections, Berry's strong voice remains the same, but the subject matter differs widely in a multifarious assortment of poems. The personal and the political are explored in poems that address hunger and racism, the ""threat and despair"" of inner-city conflict and isolation, as well as music, dance, sun-worship, and love. The poems vary in style from haiku and proverb to dialogue and ballad. Each one is peppered with a multiracial cast of characters whose faces--as the title poem suggests--shine ""plum-blue to nutmeg-brown, melon-gold to peach pale."" The poet dwells with rappers, rockers, graffiti artists, bands of costumed carnival-goers, ghost watchers, and more. Happy Boy Don is a ""number one style man"" who raps through a day in ""Boy Don Rap""; ""Nana Krishie the Midwife"" has a ""tracked black face"" that flows with light and knowing; and Josie wants to change her skin color in the poignant ""Okay, Brown Girl, Okay."" ""Love Is Like Vessel"" ends the book on a redemptive note, its ""fine fine bread"" as nourishing as the rest of this lyrical collection.

Pub Date: April 1, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1997

Categories: POETRY