The still voice of Harlem

Fülszöveg

Conrad Kent Rivers
idi
born 15 October 1933 in Atlantic City, New Jersey school in Pennsylvania, Georgia graduate of Wilberforce University, Ohio Chicago Teachers College, Indiana University served in the army in Maryland and Kentucky then lived in Chicago, Illinois
and taught in the high school system of its suburb Gary, Indiana until his sudden death pn 24 March 1968
while in high school himialf his poem Poor Peon
won the Savannah, Georgia, State Poetry Prire 1951
since then he has been included three times in Amwica Sings
and had poems in magazines like Antioch Review
Kenyon Review, Ohio Poetry Review, Negro Digest and others
Casper LeRoy Jordan published him in Free Lance and edited his three previous books of poetry Perchance to dream, Othello (1959) These black boidies and this sunburnt face (1962) Dusk at Selma (1965)
the first major anthology to include his work
was the Heritage series 'Sixes and sevens' in 1962
followed later that year by Rosey Pool's 'Beyond... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Conrad Kent Rivers
idi
born 15 October 1933 in Atlantic City, New Jersey school in Pennsylvania, Georgia graduate of Wilberforce University, Ohio Chicago Teachers College, Indiana University served in the army in Maryland and Kentucky then lived in Chicago, Illinois
and taught in the high school system of its suburb Gary, Indiana until his sudden death pn 24 March 1968
while in high school himialf his poem Poor Peon
won the Savannah, Georgia, State Poetry Prire 1951
since then he has been included three times in Amwica Sings
and had poems in magazines like Antioch Review
Kenyon Review, Ohio Poetry Review, Negro Digest and others
Casper LeRoy Jordan published him in Free Lance and edited his three previous books of poetry Perchance to dream, Othello (1959) These black boidies and this sunburnt face (1962) Dusk at Selma (1965)
the first major anthology to include his work
was the Heritage series 'Sixes and sevens' in 1962
followed later that year by Rosey Pool's 'Beyond the blues'
and since then by Arna Bontempo's 'American Negro poetry' (1963)
Langston Hughes's'New Negro poets: USA' (1964)
and lately by the Randall-Burroughs 'For Malcolm' collection
A statement prefacing his contribution to 'Sixes and sevens' included the following paragraph:
'I write about the Negro because I am a Negro, and I am not at peace with myself or my world. I cannot divorce my thoughts from the absolute injustice of hate. I cannot reckon with my color.
I am obsessed by the ludicrous and psychological behavior of hated men. And I shall continue to write about race - in spite of many warnings -until I discover myself, my future, my real race.
I do not wish to capitalize on race, nor do I wish to begin a Crimean War: I am only interested in recording the truth squeezed from my observations and experiences. I am tired of being mis-represented.
No white man can dare write my story for me it is for me to do.
I write about color because I have no say in the matter.
My Muse is blind. I am not ashamed of my flesh.
I long to be heard. I am bitter, black, and tired.
And I agree with Baldwin: 'nobody knows my name'.
All the standards for which the western world has lived so long
are in the process of breakdown and revision;
and beauty, and joy, which was in the world before
and has been buried so long, has got to come back.' Vissza