GREAT BAY, ST. MARTIN (Sept. 2, 2004) — People who would like to start writing their own poems, writing better poems, or reading new examples of great poetry, may not have to look or travel very far.
Two of the “Top 7 Books” to start your poetry education were published in St. Martin, say American authors Bob Holman and Margery Snyder.
The new poetry guide by Holman and Snyder is featured on the US website poetry.about.com and picks the “Top 7 Books to begin your Poeducation now.”
Listed at number three and four of the guide are Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems (2003) by Amiri Baraka andWords Need Love Too (2000) by Kamau Brathwaite
http://poetry.about.com/od/poetrybooks/tp/poeducation.htm .
“Read these writers, and you’ll have waltzed with some exciting partners and staked a great view of the American poetic landscape,” state Holman and Margery Snyder about their pick of seven.
House of Nehesi Publishers published both books by the widely acclaimed Brathwaite and Baraka in St. Martin. The two collections can be found at Van Dorp, Arnia’s Bookstore and at other island bookstores and libraries. “Baraka and Brathwaite have been writing great poetry for a long time. This is what poetry.about.com wants to share withithe customers and Internet visitors,” says Lasana M. Sekou, House of Nehesi’s projects director.
“We did the same thing by bringing those critical and quality works home to St. Martin. And by using those books as they wish our people play a part in reinforcing dynamic literature in our Caribbean.
“The listing by this lively poetry news and feature website takes these two books and the words of their authors beyond our region. It links St. Martin’s literary activity with like ‘livity’ in other parts of the world.”
But it is not only literature that travels with these two House of Nehesi titles.
“We are very glad about the attention that these choice volumes are getting and at the same time showcasing our nation’s artists.
“The design of both books are enhanced by the charcoal drawing of Joe Dominique and the cutting edge digital art of Angelo Rombley,” noted Sekou.
This is the second time in 10 months that Baraka’s Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems received top listing on a US bookseller and literature website.
How We Sleep on the Nights We Don’t Make Love (2004) by the Washington, DC-based writer E. Ethelbert Miller topsthe poetry.about.com list of seven “poeducation” books.