Overview

""This former San Francisco Poet Laureate and worldly cosmonaut handles politics, war, and love in equal measure as the best poets of the people do. Pablo Neruda. Bob Kaufman. June Jordan. Wanda Coleman. Ears to the ground and eyes to the sky.""-Giovanni Singleton, author of Ascension A cosmic vision of the nature of being, wedded to a streetwise indictment of the post-colonized world. Hearing Osage Indian artist Duane BigEagle pose the question ""How old is your language?"" set devorah major thinking about language and what language was ""hers."" The result is word time, a collection of poems organized around grammatical categories. The book creates connections, not through the traditional meanings of the parts of speech that become phrases, sentences, lines, poems, but through the relationship between infinite time and the finite human endeavors of healing, and of assault. It interrogates the birth and rebirth of humankind, and specifically of humans born of Africa and the African diaspora, a subset and superset of that humanity, grounded in the planet, galaxy, and universe where humanity was born. Juxtaposing the archetypal with the specific, word time ranges in scope from Yoruba fertility myths to the racist justification of slavery in Florida's social studies curriculum, traveling through space and time as it contemplates the horrors of ecological destruction and the perpetual capacity of humanity to survive, heal and move forward in a universe that is constantly transforming. It takes a circular view of our species from its origins to the fact of its inevitable future demise, telling the story of humans then, as spirit and myth, now, as war and oppression, and in the future, as memory.

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9780872869417

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Former San Francisco poet laureate devorah major's latest collection, word time, is an eloquent addition to her body of work. A poem about playing chess turns into a meditation on king-size beds, King Tut, King Kong, and Martin Luther King. Such delights are delivered with the ease of a child stepping over stones—though not one to be messed with.""—Paul Wilner, ALTA Magazine ""In a world filled with the obtuse variety of raucous soundwaves plaguing our every minute, major leads us into an ease-like force field of stream-driven poetry; a revival of timelessness; Oshun at peace in a meditative state of understanding, acceptance & pleasure.""—mimi tempestt, author of the delicacy of embracing sprials ""Every line in devorah major's word time ignites the page. A book-length scat that transforms words into a new instrument, this collection is a 'slap snap/siren whirl/holler/electric zip' all at once. The poems deliver spectacular images that convey the beauty and the horror of 'undeniable american truths,' and provide an antidote to the 'enslaved curriculum.' Each line, each poem title, delivers a resounding beat and tempo that reveal the bounty that major's body of work, and this newest book in particular, hold. devorah major, San Francisco's third Poet Laureate, continues to write witness and resistance, in her full power, with the keenest eye and an exacting pen.""—Leticia Hernández-Linares, author of Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl ""Songful poems which are incantatory origin stories, which as only sublime poetry can do, remake us, make us see ourselves—ALL of us—anew. By way of the personal in the historical, the historical in the personal, as well as in cosmic contexts. With the lexicon and linguistics of love. Which is what happens over and over again when you read and reread word time, major's wonderful new collection.""—Everett Hoagland, author of THE MUSIC: New & Selected Poems 1973-2023 ""devorah major writes knowing only language can hold us together. Her poems are a bridge over troubled waters. There is anger and sadness in this collection as major acknowledges the city morning blues. History is a witness to 'the theft' of her ancestors. word time brings the juju of salvation. major writes: time does not move / it is the earth that shakes / the sky that rushes / we who surge.This book contains the language of memories and the American truth. major's work echoes Coltrane's A Love Supreme.There is a spiritual honesty here that underscores her skill as a poet.""—E. Ethelbert Miller, author of the little book of e ""devorah major has been an enduring voice in the Bay Area literary scene for many years, and word time is her strongest and most powerful work to date. Broken into title sections of particles of speech, word time journeys back to the 'demon ship,' when the shackle and the splitting of the tongue began her ancestral trauma of the physical and psychological subjugation. The rupture and loss of major's African lineage, once rich with ancient lore, cultural wisdom, art and spirituality is the treasure she seeks to reclaim in the psychic ruins of her people. Each poem, in a sense, is both, invocation and exorcism, a painful confrontation with both perpetrators and victims of the historic past to the present day. It is a rite of healing and reconciliation, through the writing process of what Toni Morrison called 'rememory.' We, as readers, can't help but be swept by the gravitational pull of her journey of love and loss, because it ultimately connects all of our convergences, across all oceans and borders, whether as descendants of slaves, indentured servants, immigrants, migrants, wayfinders, or colonial settlers.""—Genny Lim, San Francisco Poet Laureate ""In word time, devorah major invites us into a private symphony of thought where words bend, breathe, and remember. Each section, nouns, prepositions, interjections, pronouns, conjunctions, reveals her deep listening, her coaxing of memory, and soothsaying into conversation.""—Lisa Marie Simmons, singer-songwriter

Praise for devorah major's word time: ""Songful poems which are incantatory origin stories, which as only sublime poetry can do, remake us, make us see ourselves—ALL of us—anew. By way of the personal in the historical, the historical in the personal, as well as in cosmic contexts. With the lexicon and linguistics of love. Which is what happens over and over again when you read and reread word time, major's wonderful new collection.""—Everett Hoagland, author of THE MUSIC: New & Selected Poems 1973-2023 ""devorah major writes knowing only language can hold us together. Her poems are a bridge over troubled waters. There is anger and sadness in this collection as major acknowledges the city morning blues. History is a witness to 'the theft' of her ancestors. word time brings the juju of salvation. major writes: time does not move / it is the earth that shakes / the sky that rushes / we who surge.This book contains the language of memories and the American truth. major's work echoes Coltrane's A Love Supreme.There is a spiritual honesty here that underscores her skill as a poet.""—E. Ethelbert Miller, author of the little book of e ""An enduring voice in the Bay Area literary scene for many years, word time, is devorah major's strongest and most powerful work to date. Broken into title sections of particles of speech, devorah journeys back to the 'demon ship,' when the shackle and the splitting of the tongue began her ancestral trauma of the physical and psychological subjugation. The rupture and loss of her African lineage, once rich with ancient lore, cultural wisdom, art and spirituality is the treasure she seeks to reclaim in the psychic ruins of her people. Each poem, in a sense, is both, invocation and exorcism, a painful confrontation with both perpetrators and victims of the historic past to the present day. It is a rite of healing and reconciliation, through the writing process of what Toni Morrison called, 'rememory.' We, as readers, can't help but be swept by the gravitational pull of her journey of love and loss, because it, ultimately connects all of our convergences, across all oceans and borders, whether as descendants of slaves, indentured servants, immigrants, migrants, way finders or colonial settlers.""—Genny Lim, San Francisco Poet Laureate

Praise for devorah major's word time: ""Every line in devorah major's word time ignites the page. A book-length scat that transforms words into a new instrument, this collection is a 'slap snap/siren whirl/holler/electric zip' all at once. The poems deliver spectacular images that convey the beauty and the horror of 'undeniable american truths,' and provide an antidote to the 'enslaved curriculum.' Each line, each poem title, delivers a resounding beat and tempo that reveal the bounty that major's body of work, and this newest book in particular, hold. devorah major, San Francisco's third Poet Laureate, continues to write witness and resistance, in her full power, with the keenest eye and an exacting pen.""—Leticia Hernández-Linares, author of Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl ""Songful poems which are incantatory origin stories, which as only sublime poetry can do, remake us, make us see ourselves—ALL of us—anew. By way of the personal in the historical, the historical in the personal, as well as in cosmic contexts. With the lexicon and linguistics of love. Which is what happens over and over again when you read and reread word time, major's wonderful new collection.""—Everett Hoagland, author of THE MUSIC: New & Selected Poems 1973-2023 ""devorah major writes knowing only language can hold us together. Her poems are a bridge over troubled waters. There is anger and sadness in this collection as major acknowledges the city morning blues. History is a witness to 'the theft' of her ancestors. word time brings the juju of salvation. major writes: time does not move / it is the earth that shakes / the sky that rushes / we who surge.This book contains the language of memories and the American truth. major's work echoes Coltrane's A Love Supreme.There is a spiritual honesty here that underscores her skill as a poet.""—E. Ethelbert Miller, author of the little book of e ""An enduring voice in the Bay Area literary scene for many years, word time, is devorah major's strongest and most powerful work to date. Broken into title sections of particles of speech, devorah journeys back to the 'demon ship,' when the shackle and the splitting of the tongue began her ancestral trauma of the physical and psychological subjugation. The rupture and loss of her African lineage, once rich with ancient lore, cultural wisdom, art and spirituality is the treasure she seeks to reclaim in the psychic ruins of her people. Each poem, in a sense, is both, invocation and exorcism, a painful confrontation with both perpetrators and victims of the historic past to the present day. It is a rite of healing and reconciliation, through the writing process of what Toni Morrison called, 'rememory.' We, as readers, can't help but be swept by the gravitational pull of her journey of love and loss, because it, ultimately connects all of our convergences, across all oceans and borders, whether as descendants of slaves, indentured servants, immigrants, migrants, way finders or colonial settlers.""—Genny Lim, San Francisco Poet Laureate

Praise for devorah major: ""devorah major uses the many voices of women to explore a world that we know less about than the oceans of Enceladus.""—Ishmael Reed, author of Mumbo Jumbo ""The structures and paints of her descriptions have incredible range of effect: the ascension into the first history a free people teach, the short story perceived through possession, the melodic start-stop motion of a debilitated life, the flash of your torturer's dream; all part of a collaged panoramic of spirit and flesh. She is at home in all dimensions of her subject.""—Tongo Eisen-Martin, author of Blood on the Fog ""devorah major remains one of our premier storytellers. She wraps myths and headlines, family lore and visions in language that is both delicate and tough, enticing us to dive in even though the poem she serves up may have dangerously sharp edges. Her poems eagerly call forth the African deities who give her voice as she wrestles with the mysteries of this plane from why a woman may want to be a soldier to how we learn to love. These poems are like prayers to which you return each night.""—Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories

Author Information

devorah major was born and raised in California, granddaughter of immigrants, documented and undocumented, and served as San Francisco's Third Poet Laureate (20022006). Her poetry has carried her to many countries, where she has performed with and without musicians. Her previous books include with open arms, Califia's Daughter, and where river meets ocean. Winner of the Regina Coppola International Literary Award Italy, 2022, major is a member of Daughters of Yam, a poetry and jazz performance duo. She has performed as poet and actress with First Voice productions of Song of the City in 2022 and Soul of the City in 2023 and 2024, and currently lives in Oakland, CA.

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