We Speak Your Names: A Celebration

by Pearl Cleage, Jr. Zaron W. Burnett Narrated by Pearl Cleage

Overview

“Sisterhood in the service of truth is an undeniable force in these remarkable times. My Sisters, here, there, and everywhere, this poem is for you.”

In the tradition of Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman, bestselling author Pearl Cleage brings us an inspiring poem for all women, destined to become a classic.

Cleage refers to We Speak Your Names as a “celebration” which is part of an oral tradition that encompasses the entire history of the African American experience. This tradition, she says, grew out of an understanding that “some things must be spoken out loud to get where the magic is.” What results is a praise poem which acknowledges the legacy of those who have gone before, and a realization, “with a knowing deeper than the flow of human blood in human veins, that we are part of something better, truer, deeper.”

Editorial Reviews

bn.com

The author of the Oprah's Book Club novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day offers a collection of poetry, her first in two decades. The Atlanta-based writer composed the title poem specifically for Winfrey's celebration of black women.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169782806
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/2006
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Because we are free women,

born of free women,

who are born of free women,

back as far as time begins,

we celebrate your freedom.

Because we are wise women,

born of wise women,

who are born of wise women,

we celebrate your wisdom.

Because we are strong women,

born of strong women,

who are born of strong women,

we celebrate your strength.

Because we are magical women,

born of magical women,

who are born of magical women,

we celebrate your magic.

My sisters, we are gathered here to speak your names...

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