The Language of Saxophones : Selected Poems of Kamau Daáood
Jazz permeates the work of L.A. poet Daaood, who seeks to emulate the ringing voice of the saxophone to remind us of the primacy of breath, the great universal syncopation of inhale and exhale, ofprana, the life force that sustains us all. Jazz is about expression and exploration, conversation and variation, continuity and connection. Jazz at its core is cosmic, and Daaood taps into its unifying vision in his powerfully percussive, prayerful, firmly rooted yet soaring, direct, and accessible poetry. In this slender but mighty retrospective volume covering four decades, he offers burning social critique, including these lines from "Dance of the Nigganese Dancer": "We are wrestling with bomb droppers / mind mutilators, planetary hoodlums, thugs with computers / . . . corporate cockroaches / military maniacs, industrial idolators." He also writes with compassion about "the children of asphalt / blinded by gray and neon," recognizes "the sacredness of strife," sings of jubilation, urges us all to become "whole notes," and celebrates, a la John Coltrane, a love supreme.Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved