بلوز در سیاه و سفید: مجموعه‌ای از مقالات، شعرها و گفتگوها

The ever-engaging work of the controversial Afro-German activist/writer, May Ayim, covers a fascinating range of themes: biography, politics, love as well as the absurdities of everyday life. Her unique ability to passionately transform diverse subject matters into poetic language is revealed in this important collection of translated pieces. Her play with language is effective and at times transformative, as it expresses and exposes dangerous stereotypes and messages hidden in the everyday use of language and human behavior. Here, her readers will be surprised and frequently confronted with Ayim’s keen and powerful observations of the complexities of life and the compelling richness of humor and irony within them. The ever-engaging work of the controversial Afro-German activist/writer, MayAyim, covers a fascinating range of themes: biography, politics, love as well as the absurdities of everyday life. Her unique ability to passionately transformdiverse subject matters into poetic language is revealed in this important collection of translated pieces. Her play with language is effective and at times transformative, as it expresses and exposes dangerous stereotypes and messages hiddenin the everyday use oflanguage and human behavior. Here, her readers will be surprised and frequentlyconfronted with Ayim's keen and powerful observationsof the complexities of life and the compelling richness of humor and irony within them."These poems [have] passion and irony and always a strong magnetic force...for even her humor, her playing with words and her punch lines never veil the strength of her protest against racism, sexism, and all the other isms that add sadness to our society. In May's voice, I found the echo of other sounds fromthe diaspora. Her unrestrainedness, her humor and lyric expressiveness equal those of Lion-Gontron Damas, one of the fathers of Negritude....An extraordinary voice.Unique and already in the hearts of all of us that are persecuted and fullof thirst." --Maryse Condi, from the introduction to the German edition. "In the seventies, as signs of decay began to show in the capitalist experiment of the newly independent African countries, a "bard of the misrule" emerged on the streets of Lagos. Often shirtless and armed with his trademark saxophone, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti tore his way into popular culture with Afrobeat music. Blending ethno-traditional forms with the reigning highlife and jazz rhythms. Afrobeat drew lyrics from the flip side of neo-colonial society and Fela's London and American experience in the sixties. In the two decades that followed, Fela ruled the nights from Afrika Shrine, his signature night club, and the days from the turntables of the restless city dwellers along the Atlantic coastline. Fela's Afrobeat became a dynamic mode of expression in the social history of post-independent West Africa and generated a counterculture that bonded through music, drugs, resistance politics - and ultimately, the nascence of an Afrocentric contemporary global culture." -- Publisher's description "In the seventies, as signs of decay began to show in the capitalist experiment of the newly independent African countries, a "bard of the misrule" emerged on the streets of Lagos. Often shirtless and armed with his trademark saxophone, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti tore his way into popular culture with Afrobeat music. Blending ethno-traditional forms with the reigning highlife and jazz rhythms. Afrobeat drew lyrics from the flip side of neo-colonial society and Fela's London and American experience in the sixties." "In the two decades that followed, Fela ruled the nights from Afrika Shrine, his signature night club, and the days from the turntables of the restless city dwellers along the Atlantic coastline. Fela's Afrobeat became a dynamic mode of expression in the social history of post-independent West Africa and generated a counterculture that bonded through music, drugs, resistance politics - and ultimately, the nascence of an Afrocentric contemporary global culture."--Jacket