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Side Notes from the Archivist
Poems
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Check link for latest rating. ( 159 ratings, 37 reviews)
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Summary
The work honours Blackness in all its vibrancy while confronting systemic oppression and cultural erasure. Anchored in both affectionate homage and sharp critique, the poems reference iconic figures and everyday moments, blending personal testimony with cultural history in an experimental, embracing style that cements Anastacia-Renee as a leading voice within the womanist movement.
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Side Notes from the Archivist
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This collection is ideal for readers interested in contemporary poetry that engages deeply with Black culture, feminist and womanist perspectives, and experimental verse. It appeals to those who appreciate poetic explorations of identity, cultural memory, and social critique, as well as fans of voices like Audre Lorde and Nikki Giovanni.
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See more"In Anastacia-Reneâe's new collection Side Notes from Archivist, readers follow the aptly named archivist as she preserves Black cultural inheritance."--
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Description
The award-winning, genre-crossing writer demonstrates her power as a funkadelic and formidable feminist voice in this rich and beautiful collection of verse and image—a multi-part retrospective that traverses time, space, and reality to illuminate the expansiveness of Black femme lives.
Voted one of the Best Books of 2023 by the New York Public Library.
Side Notes from the Archivist is a preservation of Black culture viewed through a feminist lens. The Archivist leads readers through poems that epitomise youthful renditions of a Black girl coming of age in Philadelphia’s pre-funk ’80s; episodic adventures of “the Black Girl” whose life is depicted through the white gaze; and selections of verse evincing affection for self and testimony to the magnificence within Black femme culture at-large.
Every poem in Side Notes elevates and honestly illustrates the buoyancy of Blackness and the calamity of Black lives on earth. In her uniquely embracing and experimental style, Anastacia-Reneé documents these truths as celebrations of diverse subjects, from Solid Gold to halal hotdogs; as homages and reflections on iconic images, from Marsha P. Johnson to Aunt Jemima; and as critiques of systemic oppression forcing some to countdown their last heartbeat.
From internet “Fame” to the toxicity of the white gaze, Side Notes from the Archivist cements Anastacia-Reneé's role as a leading light in the womanist movement—an artist whose work is in conversation with advocates of Black culture and thought such as Audre Lorde, Amiri Baraka, and Nikki Giovanni.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Praised for its urgent and trenchant critique, Side Notes from the Archivist is described as a communal book that reclaims space and meaning from the margins. Douglas Kearney calls it a work that moves the margins to the centre to hold space for the future. Avery Young commends Anastacia-Renee as a 'poetry-teller' and 'raw griot' who carries the duty of preserving queer and Black memories with integrity. Book Riot highlights the collection as "precise and cutting," praising its masterful expression of complex realities and ambivalent feelings.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780063221710
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 27 April 2023
Country: United States
Imprint: Amistad Press
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 8.0mm
Width: 127.0mm
Height: 203.0mm
Weight: 159g
Pages: 144
About the Author
Anastacia-Renee is an award-winning cross-genre writer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, TEDx speaker, and podcaster. She is the author of (v.), Forget It, and Answer(Me), and her work has been anthologized in a number of literary outlets, including Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry, Spirited Stone, Lessons from Kubotas Garden, Seismic, Seattle City of Literature, Foglifter, Cascadia Magazine, Pinwheel, The Fight and the Fiddle, Glow, The A-Line, Ms. Magazine, Spark, Obsidian Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora, Crab Creek Review, Alta, and Catapult. She and has received fellowships and residencies from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, VONA, Artist Trust, Jack Straw, Ragdale, Mineral School, Hypatia in the Woods, and the New Orleans Writers Residency. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
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