Until It Ropes Like Okra: Rhymes in the Vernacular [Paperback]

Don Barbera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2000

Until it Ropes Like Okra: Rhymes in the Vernacular is a collection of poems filled with slang, street talk, dangling participles, split infinitives, double negatives, double entendres, cursing (cussin' if you're from the Midwest) and just about every offense ever committed against the king's or Queen's English (depending on your point of view). If I do not succeed in making you laugh, embarrassing you, offending you or making you think then I have missed my goal.Until it Ropes Like Okrastarted out as a bunch of poems about my experiences in the community where I grew up. It was a time of playing with words, telling outrageous stories and rhyming in classic street-corner fashion. The poems cover a wide gamut, but I tried to limit the selection to poems that related to the Black Experience.This is intended to be easy and fun reading not work. I haven't tried to reach over any ones head. I hope that it will entertain and amuse. Or, it may dismay and offend. It might even bring a tear to your eye. Hopefully, you will not be indifferent.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (April 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059509676X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595096763
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,795,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grandma's Kitchen!, May 11, 2001

By 

Prolific Writers Network (Internet) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Until It Ropes Like Okra: Rhymes in the Vernacular (Paperback)

Reading Until It Ropes Like Okra reminded me of my grandmother's kitchen. Growing up, I remember sitting in her kitchen as she cooked large amounts of food for the masses of relatives expected for family gatherings. I especially liked watching her concoct different dishes using Okra, because I always said I didn't like it, because it was too slimy, but later realized it was all in how it was prepared. Like those dishes, prepared by my grandmother, the author prepared an abundance of food for thought. The journey down memory lane was happy, sad, joyous and sometimes mad but a trip I definitely enjoyed. Congratulations to the author for providing such personal, believable experiences through his writings. Thanks for the memories.

T.C. Matthews Co-founder Prolific Writers Network

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have you ever picked "okra"?, February 9, 2001

By 

Terri Goodner (Independence, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Until It Ropes Like Okra: Rhymes in the Vernacular (Paperback)

I am familiar with the author's home area and the "vernacular" of the area. Though I am only 26 years old, I have grown up hearing similar stories. I have planted, picked, cooked and eaten okra. It's rough on the hands and disposition when it's ready to pick, but what a reward when it "ropes" (ready to pick). The author is speaking "Southeast Kansas", a very entertaining and DIRECT form of "American". This book is a tongue-in-cheek work of fiction, that reminds me of "Picnic" by William Inge who was also from the author's hometown. Tongue-in-cheek=names changed to protect the "guilty". It's raw, rough, sad, funny, cruel and tender. Buy it, read it, and if you can ever find him, make him sign it! T. Goodner