Does Your House Have Lions ? (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Sai Baba

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The poetic blend of compassion and outrage that have marked Sonia Sanchez's political writing since the 1960s shines through this very personal account of a family's tragedy. The poems trace the story of Sanchez's brother: his alienation from his family, his struggle with HIV, and the family's eventual healing. Sanchez spins these lines in the voices of all the family members, as well as ancestors. The narrative takes on the elevated tone of Greek tragedy, or maybe the more solemn works of Wole Soyinka, and gives some sense of how overwhelming, painful, and powerful family bonds can be. June Jordan writes that this book joins Sanchez's "best poetry to her deepest feelings." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

One of our more overlooked older poets, Sanchez writes concise, wounded poems that work on the page as well as aloud. A tragedy of sorts written in terse terza rima, this short narrative poem mourns the poet's half-brother's death from AIDS. Borrowing techniques from Greek tragedy and African ritual storytelling and song, it has a section for each speaker: sister, brother, father, and chorus of ancestors. Permeated with the pain of abandonment?the abandoner's, as well as the victim's?the poem is a road map for the disintegrating family: "this father always a guest/ never a permanent resident of my veins/ always a traveler to other terrains." It fades into disembodied voices at the end, the brother's death being one terminus of the ancestral line. But it is the ancestors who offer strength and permanence because they have turned suffering into a stoical wisdom. Interesting and moving, if occasionally straining to make a rhyme, this book is recommended.?Ellen Kaufman, Dewey Ballantine Law Lib., New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (January 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807068314
• ISBN-13: 978-0807068311
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking and compulsively readable, May 16, 2005

By	E. Kutinsky "ekutinsky" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I come from a skewed perspective because I had the privilege of watching the great Sonia Sanchez perform this work in person. Not read, perform. Sanchez's work on the page is a script and a catalyst for the performance of verse and characterization, as if, when reading, she's filled with the writing rather than presenting it. That means that with Does Your House Have Lions, the gorgeous tale of rebellion, loss, and reconciliation is presented exactly as it should - as a maelstrom of free-floating unresolved emotions, pain and disappointments that only grew in the face of death. It's a work of magnificent gusto to convey, with unwavering and elegant lyricism, a consummate identity of everyone involved, a family, before and after death, and the continued dialogue of what seems like a whole community of life being unwound by the most powerful unfinished buisness.

4.0 out of 5 stars A heartbreaking poem dedicated to her brother, January 29, 2009

By	Darryl R. Morris "Kidzdoc" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ms Sanchez is an African-American poet and playwright, who was a distinguished professor of English at Temple University in Philadelphia. Does Your House Have Lions?, which was nominated for both the National Book Critics' Circle Award and the NAACP Image Award in 1997, is a poem in memory of Ms Sanchez's brother, who died of AIDS in the 1980s. It consists of short, electric bursts of anger, bitterness, fear, and ultimately love and reconciliation, from the voices of Ms Sanchez, her brother, their father, and his stepmother, along with the voices of African ancestors. My only regret is not hearing Ms Sanchez read this poem; if anyone is familiar with this book and knows of a performance or audio book of it, please let me know!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Does your House have Lions, June 29, 2001

By A Customer

This is a great book for any age. This book is not to difficult to read. It is great for a little short reading each day. SHe has little short poems on each day that give you depth and insight without being to hard to understand. She also gives you something to think about through out the day. This is a good book.