How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps [Paperback]

Laura Yes Yes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2011

Laura Yes Yes' sultry, wry first book, How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps, dazzles us with its bold exploration into the politics and metaphysics of identity. From fierce and funny sexual fantasias to cutting observations of interracial dynamics, her work asks us to fully consider what it is to be human in an age of fragmentation and double meanings. There are no easy answers here: the voice of the liberated woman rings clearly as a man-eater in one moment, and shudders under the weight of lost love in the next. Laura skillfully navigates the trauma of being Other while acknowledging the absurdity of our perceptions of race. With precise craft and breathtaking imagery, How to Seduce a White Boy blooms as a ferocious celebration of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Laura Yes Yes' work is a church tent revival in your belly, without all the fire and damnation. She is bawdy, brilliant, and subversive in her wit." -- Sonya Renee Taylor, international award-winning poet and activist

"At a time when the formulaic is rewarded and the superficial revered, Laura Yes Yes is winning over audiences across the country the old-fashioned way- with hard writing, tireless editing, imaginative concepts, and uncompromisingly honest presentation." -- Jared Paul, poet/musician/activist

About the Author

After decades of writing poetry and five years in the world of slam and spoken word, Laura has blossomed, earning a coveted Cave Canem fellowship and fourth place at PSI's Women of the World Poetry Slam. Laura also performs with Chicago's Speak'Easy Ensemble, the brainchild of slam founder Marc Smith. She is savvy, genuine, outspoken, and fearless.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Write Bloody Publishing (March 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935904167
• ISBN-13: 978-1935904168
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura is an MFA candidate at Warren Wilson College. She is a Callaloo and Cave Canem fellow, assistant editor for Muzzle Magazine, and co-curator of Real Talk Live, Chicago's most raucous variety show. She tours internationally performing her poetry, and leading workshops on writing, performing, feminism, and empowerment. She has competed in many national competitions, notably as a finalist in 2010′s Women of the World Poetry Slam. Her first book, How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps, was nominated for a National Book Award by Write Bloody Publishing.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Experience! May 9, 2011

By Seth

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was reading this book one day pretentiously enough in a café (yes THAT one) and I was smiling when a woman approached me read the cover and asked what the book was about. Her look of bewildered interest was priceless, looking at me a 220lb black man reading a book entitled "How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps" I can't imagine what she must've been thinking. I explained that it was a book of poems and her expression changed immediately. Poetry. Poetry to most equates to boring, esoteric, musings that make most glad they saw the last of it in High School. Now this is where I tell you this book is different.

THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT!

Laura writes with thoughtfulness so as not to lose the reader in overblown language, but also with passion so to keep you reading. The subject matter is relevant and current, covering issues of, love, sex, rejection, politics and reflection. This the answers aren't always pretty, "Be nice to his family. Pretend not to notice the way their house smells. Pretend to like their food. Mimic their barbaric customs at the dinner table." Probably my favorite feature about this book is what I like to call "replay value"; that means every time I read it, I experience it differently. In the end you feel like you've experienced something, touched another soul. That's because you have.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The real deal, y'all May 24, 2011

By Chris August

Format:Kindle Edition

Every now and again, I get to feel like the smartest person in the history of ever because of my awareness of something or someone's awesomeness before the rest of the world got their hands on it. With this collection, I can now rest assured that everybody knows what I've been talking about for the many years I've been rightly singing the praises of Laura Swearingen-Steadwell. Her boundless ability to mix, master and invent forms is nothing short of inspired and inspiring; her analysis of a generous array of social and personal identities is simultaneously soothing and stinging, and it is all bound together with a singular voice and staggering confidence. Maybe I'm a little in love...

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Meet her now, before she's too famous to return your fan mail. June 7, 2011

By K. Jackson

Format:Paperback

I consider it impressive that a poet I know very well has still managed to surprise me. Laura has long been known as a poet that tackles race and love and various other issues in a frank, original, often hilarious way. She's makes miscegenation funny as hell. She makes you wonder if your standards for sensuality (both sexual and non-sexual)were ever really high enough. But again, these are what she's been known for. What surprised me was the various ways she could slink into a story that I'd literally never thought of. "Octopussy: The Playboy Interview" is brilliantly choice, and deserves a shout out. My two favorites are "Domesticated Fish", which brings spirits and goldfish together in a way that makes me shake my head wondering why I hadn't written it. My other favorite is "Imaginary Instruments of the Year 3065." It's the perfect ending for the book, and (given how well I know her) about as hopeful of an ending as I could stand from her. I suggest you read that poem as slowly as you can, and actually try to hear the sounds from the instruments she's invented. Then ask if this is music you could live to in 3065. Who are you in 3065? What is left? This poem offers some hints, but we fill in the rest ourselves. Which is expected; this is a poem, after all.