Bessie Smith

Name: Bessie Smith
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9780571362929
Price: 26.0 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

By Jackie Kay

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Summary

Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay explores the life of the iconic blues singer, Bessie Smith, delving into her music, personal struggles, and the cultural landscape of her time. Through a blend of biography and personal reflection, Kay paints a vivid portrait of Smith's passion, resilience, and influence on the arts and culture scene. The book offers insight into her enduring legacy and the fierce determination that defined her remarkable career.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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You might enjoy this book if you are fascinated by the transformative power of music and the vibrant, complex life of one of the most iconic African American singers of the 20th century. This insightful exploration delves into the cultural impact and personal struggles of the legendary blues singer, providing a compelling blend of biography, history, and personal reflection.

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith: singer, icon, pioneer. Scotland's National Poet Jackie Kay brings to life the tempestuous story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.

Bessie Smith: singer, icon, pioneer.

Scotland's National Poet Jackie Kay brings to life the tempestuous story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.

Description

'The most vivid evocation of Bessie Smith I have ever read' - Ian Carr, BBC Music

'[Bessie Smith] showed me the air and taught me how to fill it ... she's the reason I started singing, really' - Janis Joplin

Bessie Smith: singer, icon, pioneer.

Bessie Smith was born in Tennessee in 1894. Orphaned by the age of nine, she sang on street corners before becoming a big name in travelling shows. In 1923, she made her first recording for a new start-up called Columbia Records. It sold 780,000 copies, making her a star. Smith's life was notoriously difficult: she drank pints of "bathtub gin", got into violent fist fights, spent huge sums of money, and had passionate love affairs with men and women. She once single-handedly fought off a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

As a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, Jackie Kay found in Bessie someone with whom she could identify and who she could idolise. In this remarkable book, Kay mixes biography, fiction, poetry and prose to create an enthralling account of an extraordinary life.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571362929

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 February 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 195g

Pages: 224

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Jackie Kay Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies Non-Fiction

About the Author

Jackie Kay is a Scottish poet and novelist, and has been the National Poet of Scotland since 2016. She is the author of a number of works, including The Adoption Papers, Trumpet and Red Dust Road. The recipient of numerous prizes, she was also twice shortlisted for the Scottish Book of the Year Award. She is currently chancellor of the University of Salford, and divides her time between Glasgow and Manchester. @JackieKayPoet