Tabula rasa. Gwendolyn Brooks -- We real cool / Gwendolyn Brooks -- The initiation of Tuan -- We real cool. Colder -- We left school. Bee -- The red caboose -- Parental alienation 101 -- The rent -- We lurk late. Arena -- Sandalwood -- Like this -- We strike straight. The key -- Game theory -- We sing sin . A house is not a home -- Let the church say "amen" -- We thin gin. This gay life -- Look left, look right -- We jazz June. Carnival -- We die soon. Gravel -- Stall -- Tabula rasa.
Summary:
Punch Me Up to the Gods introduces a powerful new talent in Brian Broome, whose early years growing up in Ohio as a dark-skinned Black boy harboring crushes on other boys propel forward this gorgeous, aching, and unforgettable debut. Brian<U+2019>s recounting of his experiences<U+2014>in all their cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking glory<U+2014>reveal a perpetual outsider awkwardly squirming to find his way in. Indiscriminate sex and escalating drug use help to soothe his hurt, young psyche, usually to uproarious and devastating effect. A no-nonsense mother and broken father play crucial roles in our misfit<U+2019>s origin story. But it is Brian<U+2019>s voice in the retelling that shows the true depth of vulnerability for young Black boys that is often quietly near to bursting at the seams.Cleverly framed around Gwendolyn Brooks<U+2019>s poem “We Real Cool,” the iconic and loving ode to Black boyhood, Punch Me Up to the Gods is at once playful, poignant, and wholly original. Broome<U+2019>s writing brims with swagger and sensitivity, bringing an exquisite and fresh voice to ongoing cultural conversations about Blackness in America. ---Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.