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Bessie Smith
A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
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Format: Paperback / softback
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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.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
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
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
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