AUDIOBOOK
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In an entirely unique take on the biography genre, Jackie Kay--Scotland's national poet laureate--blends poetry, prose, fiction, and nonfiction to create a beautiful life tribute to the larger-than-life classic blues singer Bessie Smith. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL.
There is no one like Bessie Smith. Known for her prodigous musical talent, her timeless blues narratives about personal and socioeconomic problems, her tough persona, and her innate ability to enrapture audiences with her raw voice, Bessie Smith--the Empress of the Blues--receives a unique biographical treatment in this special life narrative captured by one of Scotland's finest poets. By masterfully incorporating multiple genres as well as her own experiences in listening to Bessie Smith, Jackie Kay brings Smith to life, chronicling her humble beginnings in Tennessee, her national touring and recording success, her troubled relationships, and her tragic end. The result is a lyrical tribute that not only captures Smith's personality; it also manages to reproduce her voice as her lyrics echo throughout the text. Bessie Smith lives on, and as Kay argues, she is revelant now more than ever. JACKIE KAY is one of Scotland's finest writers and currently holds the position of Scots Makar, the national poet laureate of Scotland. She is the author of several critically acclaimed poetry collections--Other Lovers (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), The Adoption Papers (winner of the Scottish Arts Council Book Award), Off Colour (shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize), and Life Mask (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation)--almost all of which were collected in Darling: New & Selected Poems. Her first novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award. She has also written several plays and children's books. She lives in Manchester, England.
There is no one like Bessie Smith. Known for her prodigous musical talent, her timeless blues narratives about personal and socioeconomic problems, her tough persona, and her innate ability to enrapture audiences with her raw voice, Bessie Smith--the Empress of the Blues--receives a unique biographical treatment in this special life narrative captured by one of Scotland's finest poets. By masterfully incorporating multiple genres as well as her own experiences in listening to Bessie Smith, Jackie Kay brings Smith to life, chronicling her humble beginnings in Tennessee, her national touring and recording success, her troubled relationships, and her tragic end. The result is a lyrical tribute that not only captures Smith's personality; it also manages to reproduce her voice as her lyrics echo throughout the text. Bessie Smith lives on, and as Kay argues, she is revelant now more than ever. JACKIE KAY is one of Scotland's finest writers and currently holds the position of Scots Makar, the national poet laureate of Scotland. She is the author of several critically acclaimed poetry collections--Other Lovers (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), The Adoption Papers (winner of the Scottish Arts Council Book Award), Off Colour (shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize), and Life Mask (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation)--almost all of which were collected in Darling: New & Selected Poems. Her first novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award. She has also written several plays and children's books. She lives in Manchester, England.