The library will be hosting a book talk by New Jersey poet and author Jacquese Armstrong! She will be reading from her newest book of poetry, blues legacy, which is her exploration of the relationship of African-Americans to music and their relationship to the United States. Her reading will center around some pieces from blues legacy relating specifically to music. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month, you are not going to want to miss this talk!
When: Monday, 2/25 at 7pm
Where: Community Room, Main Branch
(485 Demott Lane, Somerset NJ 08873)
Light refreshments will be served!
Registration is preferred but not required! Click Here to register!
About the Book
“Blues Legacy is a collection of poems inspired by and celebrating various genres of African American music. The poet’s voice is stark and clear; her lines are uncompromisingly lean and powerful, evoking the deepest, tenacious strains of African American political resistance and endurance. As the poetry moves along in familiar, everyday images, the poet peels back outer layers of experience to reveal the tender, vulnerable, striving energy of a people. Blues Legacy refers, then, to a revered music heritage, yes, but also to a way of life fashioned over centuries, characterized by the rhythms of perseverance, self-determination, and affirmation of beauty that have kept the people and their culture alive and evolving. While the poet honors this ancestral past, she also points to the future, appealing to African American women especially to empower themselves, and step confidently into their roles as community torchbearers.” -From Amazon.com
About the Author
Jacquese Armstrong is the recipient of the 2019 Naomi Madgett Long Poetry award and resides in Central New Jersey. Her book, blues legacy, will be released February 4, 2019 from Wayne State University Press. Armstrong’s poetry chapbook, dance of the shadows, was published in 2017. Her work has been seen in several publications including midnight and indigo, For Harriet, A Gathering of the Tribes, The Rising Phoenix Review, Black Magnolias Literary Journal and Ourselves Black among others. Armstrong was a 2015 recipient of an Ambassador Award from the State of New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma for promoting wellness and recovery and reducing stigma through the arts.
Hope to see you there!
-George, FTPL
