African Sleeping Sickness: Stories and Poems [Paperback]

Wanda Coleman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0876858124 | ISBN-13: 978-0876858127 | Publication Date: October 1, 1990

Coleman is one of the decade's most moral poets, showing us in feverishly focused first- and third-person dramatic monologues the grim life of L.A.'s streets. It's impossible to paraphrase her colloquial, dynamic style: "where I live / the little gangsters diddy-bop through and pick up / young bitches and flirt with old ones, looking to / snatch somebody's purse or find their way into somebody's / snatch 'cause mama don't want them at home and papa / is a figment and them farms them farms them farms / they call schools, and mudflapped bushy-headed entities / swoop the avenue seeking death / it's the only thrill left / where I live." Understanding does not mean, to Coleman, mild forgiveness, it means hot rage against those of any color who prey on others in pain. Contextualizing murder, rape, poverty, addiction showing us their human faces gives Coleman a 'shattered heart,' makes her feel 'thrown heart first into this ruin,' but the experience transforms the reader. Pat Monaghan, Booklist

Editorial Reviews

Review

24 Hours Up
About Flowers
Accounts Payable
African Sleeping Sickness
African Sleeping Sickness (2)
After His Flight
Al 1968
All About Humbug
American Sonnet (1)
American Sonnet (2)
Ars Poetics
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (2)
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (3)
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (4)
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (5)
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (6)
Art In The Court Of The Blue Fag (9)
The Article In The Newspaper
As An Arbus
At The Stop
Augueries (4)
Auguries
Auguries (2)
Auguries (3)
Auguries (5)
Auguries (6)
Aunt Jessie
Baby I've Got The Reds
Beaches. Why I Don't Care For Them
Beserk On Hollywood Boulevard
Black Against The Night
Black Dust
Black Iris
Black Madonna
A Black Woman's Hole
Bojack Sam Dealin' Man
Bones Of Contention
Breast Examination
Bruno
Burnt
But, Ruby My Dear
Chance Music
A Civilized Plague
The Co-star
Coffee
Collage
Cousin Mary
Current Events
Dancer In The Window
Dear Little Boy
Death 213
The Death Of A Friend
Decor
The Deuce Of Cups
Doctor Spider
Doe Eyes
Dog Suicide
Doing Battle With The Wolf
Dream 1288
Dream 28
Dream 731
Dream 924
Drone
Easter Sunrise
The Educational Lab Counselor
Emmett Till
The Emotional Con Meets A Virginal Ideal
End Of The Century
The First Day Of Spring 1985
Frozen In The Beam Of Headlights/eyes On Hold
George 1914
Ghetto Moment
Ghost Of Manic Silence
Give Me Time
Haitian Night
He Tells Me There Will Be Nothing
His Eyes Into The Room
His Hair
His Old Flame Lady Venice
His Woman His Party His Price
Hollywood Zen
Homage To An Old White Lady Grown Ill
The House Of Blue Lights
How Does It Hurt
Hydroqueen
In The Kitchen My Potatoes Are Polemical
Indian Summer
Invitation To A Gunfighter
Kathy (2)
Koans
Koans (2)
Landing Place
A Late 80s Party
Late One Night
The Laying Down Blues
The Library
Love Bandit
Luz
A Lyric
The Man Behind The Woman
Message From Xanadu
Mexico Entered The Door With Him On The Wind
Midnight Carries Me South Along Illusion Avenue
Mother The Flesh
Mr. Lopez
Ms. Pac Man
The Natural Habitat Of Things That Bite
New Leaf
No Woman's Land
Noise
Nosomania
Nosomania (2)
Notes Of A Cultural Terrorist
Obituaries
Of No Feather
An Offering Of Paws
Office
On Heaven Street At One A.m.
On The Asphalt
On The Other End Of Melrose
On The Train
Poet After Surgery
Prove It Why Don't You
Quoth The Raven
Rapping With Opportunity
Regions Of Deserts
San Diego
Scylla & Charybdis
Second Class Angel
The Secret Tongue Of The Gone
Self-immolation
Senora Mosquito
Sessions
Sidewalk
The Silver Satin Niggah Rides
Some Of Us
Something In My Throat
Son Of A
Space Travel
Splitz
Starbound
Starved For Affection Blues
Staying And Not Staying
Sweet Mama Wanda Tells Fortunes For A Price
Sweet Mama Wanda Tells Fortunes For A Price (3)
The Sweetening
Talk About Daddy
Tequila Sunrise
They Came Knocking On My Door At 7 A.m.
Things He Taught Me
Three Trees
Thru The Gap
Time Comes When You Know
To The Original Poet
Today
Today I Am A Homicide 1n The North Of The City
Tomboy
Unfinished Ghost Story (2)
Untitled
Untitled
Variation On A Fairytale
Vermont Meets Melrose
Waiting For Paul
Wanda In Worryland
Watching
The Way They Feel
Wet Thursday
What I Know Of My Man
What The Beast Eats
When I Sense The Shadow
Where I Live
The Woman And Her Thang
Woman Eater
The Woman Who Went Up In Smoke
The Women In My Life
Women Of My Color
Word Game
You Hear About Them
You Judge A Man By The Silence He Keeps
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Black Sparrow Press (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876858124
• ISBN-13: 978-0876858127
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,861,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This poetry don't play, May 19, 2002

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: African Sleeping Sickness: Stories and Poems (Paperback)

This book is actually two: 1979's "Mad Dog Black Lady" and the 1990 "African Sleeping Sickness". Both are incredibly powerful collections of poetry (with some stories), and the sheer volume of work contained here (328 pgs, with almost a poem for every 2 on average) is almost enough to make you OD on poetry. The work is strong stuff, with stories of love, sex and danger throughout, and Coleman's voice is so hardcore compelling you don't know if you should read the bok or run from it.

Captures the biting energy of her short stories in poetic form. Wow.