{"product_id":"when-rap-spoke-straight-to-god-9781947793033","title":"When Rap Spoke Straight to God","description":"\u003cb\u003eA book-length poem navigating belief, black lives, the tragedies of Trump, and the boundaries of being a woman. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWhen Rap Spoke Straight to God\u003c\/i\u003e is utterly transporting. In language both elevated and slangy, saucy and tender, Dawson lovingly weaves the reader around her finger.\" --Jennifer Egan \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen Rap Spoke Straight to God \u003c\/i\u003eisn't sacred or profane, but a chorus joined in a single soliloquy, demanding to be heard. There's Wu-Tang and Mary Magdelene with a foot fetish, Lil' Kim and a self-loving Lilith. Slurs, catcalls, verses, erasures--Dawson asks readers, \"Just how far is it to nigger?\" Both grounded and transcendent, the book is reality and possibility. Dawson's work has always been raw; but, When Rap Spoke Straight to God is as blunt as the answer to that earlier question: \"Here.\" Sometimes abrasive and often abraded, Dawson doesn't flinch. \u003cbr\u003eA mix of traditional forms where sonnets mash up with sestinas morphing to heroic couplets, \u003ci\u003eWhen Rap Spoke Straight to God\u003c\/i\u003e insists that while you may recognize parts of the poem's world, you can't anticipate how it will evolve. \u003cbr\u003eWith a literal exodus of light in the book's final moments, \u003ci\u003eWhen Rap Spoke Straight to God\u003c\/i\u003e is a lament for and a celebration of blackness. It's never depression; it's defiance--a persistent resistance. In this book, like Wu-Tang says, the marginalized \"ain't nothing to f--- with.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zando\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/18\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781947793033\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.30w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2018\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Erica Dawson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53273360826549,"sku":"9781947793033","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/9781947793033.jpg?v=1789485290","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/when-rap-spoke-straight-to-god-9781947793033","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}