Matthew Shenoda – författare

"[Dawes] is highly original and intelligent, possessing poetic sensibility that is rooted and sound, unshakeable and unstopped, both in its vibrancy and direction. He writes poetry as it ought to be written."—World Literature Today

"Dawes asserts himself as man and artist and finally, with grace achieved and grace said, sits down to begin life''s tragic feast . . . a writer of major significance."—Brag Book

"The notion of a reggae aesthetic—of the language moving to a different rhythm, under different kinds of pressure . . . underpins all Dawes'' work as poet."—Stewart Brown

Born in Ghana, raised in Jamaica, and educated in Canada, Kwame Dawes is a dynamic and electrifying poet. In this generous collection, new poems appear with the best work from fifteen previous volumes. Deeply nuanced in exploring the human condition, Dawes'' poems are filled with complex emotion and consistently remind us what it means to be a global citizen.

From "The Lessons":

Fingers can be trained to make shapesthat, pressed just right on the gleamingkeys, will make a sound that can staytears or cause them to flow for days.Anyone can learn to make some music,but not all have the heart to beatout the tunes that will turn us inside out. . .

Kwame Dawes is the author of fifteen collections of poetry, two novels, four anthologies, and numerous essays and plays. In 2009 he won an Emmy Award for his interactive website, LiveHopeLove.com. Since 2011 he has taught at the University of Nebraska, and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Weaving narratives of ancient and contemporary Egypt while exploring ecological shifts of the Nile Valley, Matthew Shenoda is a voice at the crossroads of the African continent and its diasporas. Amiri Baraka says, “Matthew Shenoda’s poetry will open your mind to another world that exists inside and outside of your own.” Winner of the 2006 American Book Award for his debut collection, Somewhere Else, Shenoda is a younger poet with his eyes set on the larger issues of history, politics, and culture.

Matthew Shenoda lives in Los Angeles, California. He is on the faculty of the MFA program at Goddard College.