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Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers

One of the shortcomings of the recently published Angles of Ascent: The work of Frank X Walker does not fit this definition of poetry. Revealing his sense that a poem is not simply the work of one individual, he acknowledges his indebtedness to the still developing African American tradition; Turn Me Loose , for example, has poems written after the manners of A.

The Journey of York , a poetic imagining of the experiences of York, a slave who was owned by William Clark and accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Walker has continued to employ this approach in When Winter Came: The Ascension of York , Isaac Murphy: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers. Largely sharing the white supremacist attitude of the Beckwith voice are the voices of his two wives, Willie and Thelma. Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement.

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Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support? Except for the book's title,"Turn me loose," which were his final words, Evers remains in this collection silent. Read more Read less. Add all three to Cart Add all three to List. One of these items ships sooner than the other. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Amazon. Customers who bought this item also bought.


  1. Turn Me Loose : NPR.
  2. Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers?
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Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Imaginative Writing 4th Edition. Poems by Frank X Walker. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes: The Journey of York Kentucky Voices. Here's how restrictions apply. Review Having labored in the world of the arts and in particular in the vineyards of poetry over the last fifty years, I am seldom surprised, moved or excited about the many voices-new and experienced-who occupy our rather fragile and inclusive world.

Madhubuti author of Honoring Genius: Gwendolyn Brooks—The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness, and Justice Searing, brilliantly realized, these forty-nine poems exhume the history of a great American hero, Medgar Evers, whose death at the hands of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith lit a powder keg of racial unrest in the nation and ushered in a decade of political assassinations.

Minrose Gwin author of Remembering Medgar Evers: Charlie Campbell Author photo: University of Georgia Press; 1 edition May 1, Language: Start reading Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.

Write a customer review. Showing of 8 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. It is in the suffering of those we lost in the Civil Rites movement that our compassion grows, and it is in providing insight into the perspectives of those who would kill four small children in a church bombing or slay the activist that what is unthinkable can be understood.

Kentucky poet laureate Frank X Walker doesn't preach in this collection, doesn't draw lines in the sand or define the motivations of those invested in this reality. Instead, with a few well-written lines, he opens channels of reason, moments of humanity -- and then pulls them up in the facts. The impact is the grace of men wanting something better, the tragedy of fear strangling empathy and reason, the rage that makes finding one's right or best way possible.

August Read of the Month: “Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers,” by Frank X Walker

Lists with This Book. Dec 20, TinHouseBooks rated it it was amazing Shelves: Lance Cleland Workshop Director: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers. In its 49 poems, the book recounts the life and death of the civil rights activist through a variety of voices, including Byron De La Beckwith, hi Lance Cleland Workshop Director: In its 49 poems, the book recounts the life and death of the civil rights activist through a variety of voices, including Byron De La Beckwith, his assassin.

It is a testament to both the author and his treatment of the subject matter that events that took place some 50 years ago never feel distant.

Civil Rights Turmoil In Verse: Retelling Medgar Evers' Story

Part of my love for this collection stems from my discovering it during the Zimmerman trial. Sep 14, Ann rated it it was amazing. Searing, brilliantly realized, these forty-nine poems exhume the history of a great American hero, Medgar Evers, whose death at the hands of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith lit a powder keg of racial unrest in the nation and ushered in a decade of political assassinations.


  1. TURN ME LOOSE: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers by Frank X. Walker.
  2. Civil Rights Turmoil In Verse: Retelling Medgar Evers' Story : NPR.
  3. God With Us!
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  5. Denial, Deceit, Discovery!

With their deep links to African American poetic traditions of social commentary and historical excavation, Walker's poems summon ghosts of the southern past to probe the daily horror of dehumanization under the re Searing, brilliantly realized, these forty-nine poems exhume the history of a great American hero, Medgar Evers, whose death at the hands of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith lit a powder keg of racial unrest in the nation and ushered in a decade of political assassinations.

With their deep links to African American poetic traditions of social commentary and historical excavation, Walker's poems summon ghosts of the southern past to probe the daily horror of dehumanization under the reign of Jim Crow and the terrifying psychological roots of white supremacism, past and present. Jul 20, Nicolaus Stengl rated it it was ok Shelves: Found it to be quite dull and mundane. The author pushed the themes which took away from the purely flat poems. I plan to read it again, however I just did not feel as if I got anything out of it. Eliot, et cetera this short book of poetry just did not fulfill my desire for "good" poetry.

Saying that, I know poetry is an art and thus a review of it can be subjective. So, I should not critique it as I have done, but so be it. I will end wi Found it to be quite dull and mundane. I will end with a quote from Oscar Wilde -- "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling. Sep 15, James rated it it was amazing. Walker does not gives us what we think we need to see, he seems best at giving us what we should not ignore.

My exposure to Mr. Walker predated this as, when a student, I was advised of a play he was involved in writing - Affrilachia, which was a performance he was involved in that, if memory serves, evolved out of another one of his books.

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Eighteen months after finishing my PhD, I chance upon this book and pick it up with interest. Walker twists another key and starts another engine of thought with this one. Beckwith could be made a caricature of heinous evil, but Walker presents him and his wife. They sing their side with the same zeal as Myrlie. Through poetry, he has unghosted an entire event, time, conflict, and many, many others. Jan 09, D.

Gray rated it it was amazing. Some good collections of poetry dazzle the reader with their skill, or the emotional impact; some leave a mark. Walker's collection falls into that second category. The voices in this collection of persona poems are haunting. From Medgar Evers, his wife Myrlie and brother Charles Evers to his murderer Byron de la Beckwith and his two ex-wives, Willie and Thelma, each poem captures a facet of the assassination and its aftermath. Each poem also captures a facet of the fear that pervaded Mississippi Some good collections of poetry dazzle the reader with their skill, or the emotional impact; some leave a mark.

Each poem also captures a facet of the fear that pervaded Mississippi. Walker pulls no punches.

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It would be the easy way out to paint Beckwith's evil in a stereotypical way, focus on the hate speech and the hood, but Walker explores his fear. In "Harriet Tubman as Villian: Jun 05, Aj Sterkel rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is the best book that I've read in a long time.

It's possibly the best book that I've read so far this year. There are a lot of great poems in this collection, but my favorite was probably "Ambiguity Over The Confederate Flag.

The Unghosting of Medgar Evers

These forty-nine poems explore the murder of civil-rights activist Medgar Evers. This is the type of book that you keep thinking about long after you've finished it. The poems are beautiful, pow This is the best book that I've read in a long time.