Research Catalog

Title

Get your ass in the water and swim like me : African American narrative poetry from oral tradition / [compiled by] Bruce Jackson.

Publication

New York : Routledge, c2004.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Jackson, Bruce, 1936-

Description

xvi, 244 p.; 24 cm. +

Summary

"Originally published in 1974, this work is considered one of the great collections of black literature and folk poetry known as "toasts" - probably the only living form of oral narrative poetry in the U.S. which represent a vital genre of black folklore. Includes an audio CD"--Amazon.com description.

Alternative Title

African American narrative poetry from oral tradition

Subject

• African Americans > Poetry
• American poetry > African American authors
• Folk poetry, American
• Narrative poetry, American
• Oral tradition > United States
• Toasts (African American folk poetry)

Genre/Form

• Anthologie.
• Folk poetry
• Folk poetry.
• Poetry

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-237) and indexes.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Telling and learning toasts -- Functions and themes: violence, sex, and the failure of romance -- Pimps and their ladies: insult and reputation -- Badman and trickster: functional outsiders -- Shine and the Titanic: goodbye to Charlie -- Beyond poetry -- Badmen, crime, and jail -- Pimps, whores, and other lovers and friends -- Freaks and supersex -- Signifying and poolshooting monkey -- The Titanic toasts -- Miscellaneous narratives -- Short versus and drinking toasts.

ISBN

• 0415969964
• 0415969972 (pbk.)

LCCN

^^2006295647

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library