In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:
Augusta Savage in Paris
Kassy Lee (bio)
My daddy beat the clayout of me. Saw as sinthe salves savedfrom the mud pitsof the South wherewater chisels through rockand is made readyfor the handsof a lonely Negrogirl. At nineteen,I carved facesinto faces. I namestreet urchin my sculptednephew. Though Parisians,as racist as the half-bakedsun, barred my bloom.Still, I lift voicesfrom my palms and plucka holy harp. Still,I’m just as brokeand redas my pocketed handsand clay, caked onskin, means nothingto whom it meansnothing. But, to childrenof mud, it meansyou arearrested in earth, freeto be remoldedas my nephews. [End Page 239]
Kassy Lee
Kassy Lee, a poet and Cave Canem fellow from San Diego, has been supported by the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and the Vermont Studio Center. She’s grateful to Augusta Savage’s enduring legacy for inspiring this persona poem. She is currently at work on her debut collection, and you can receive updates about her work at kassylee.substack.com.
期刊介绍:
As the official publication of the Division on Black American Literature and Culture of the Modern Language Association, the quarterly journal African American Review promotes a lively exchange among writers and scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who hold diverse perspectives on African American literature and culture. Between 1967 and 1976, the journal appeared under the title Negro American Literature Forum and for the next fifteen years was titled Black American Literature Forum. In 1992, African American Review changed its name for a third time and expanded its mission to include the study of a broader array of cultural formations.