for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf

''Inspiring. Emotionally charged. Ground-breaking'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO

''A revelation. I am so thankful to Ntozake Shange for seeing us, reflecting us and showing us how beautiful we can be'' JESMYN WARD

''Encompassing, it seems, every feeling and experience a woman has ever had'' NEW YORKER

The Lady in Red has adored her lover for eight months, 2 weeks and a day, but now she is leaving. The Lady in Blue has an abortion, all alone. The Lady in Brown can read fifteen books in three weeks.

The Lady in Purple has met a man, and is finally being real. The Lady in Yellow was a virgin, until she spent her graduation night driving around in a black Buick with boys. And the Lady in Orange has to dance to keep from crying and dying.

Written in 1975 and immediately hailed as a masterwork, this ''choreo-poem'' is made up of monologues detailing loss, betrayal, love and community. A passionate and fearless portrait of black womanhood in the twentieth century, it resonates with deep emotional power and unusual beauty.

A W&N Essential