Review
Michelle Cliff is a light-skinned woman from Jamaica who could not help but "pass." She was educated in England and once believed firmly that only the King's English could produce real literature: all else was folklore, not art. Her earlier published works, Notes on Speechlessness and Claiming an Identity They Taught Me to Despise form the foundation for The Land of Look Behind. Each dream, poem, prose poem, imaginary conversation, essay, and observation in this book carves new shapes and forms for subjects the King's English resists: "The Laughing Mulatto (Formerly a Statue) Speaks," "If I Could Write This In Fire, I Would Write This In Fire," "Europe Becomes Blacker." Each is colored by looking-back views of her life as a Caribbean woman with African roots; each piece speaks its truth through patois - her mother tongue - with the King's English gracefully, pungently, and purposefully strip-mined for meaning. With conscience, care, and precision, Michelle Cliff delivers up rich imagery, giving these English words meaning no king has the power to claim. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
