Description: "Lost in Language & Sound" is a vibrant and vital collection that celebrates the three most important muses in the life and legendary work of Shange--language, music, and dance.
Brief description: Ntozake Shange was born in Trenton, New Jersey and educated at Barnard College and the University of Southern California, where she received an MA in American Studies. Her choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf brought her Broadway success and international recognition. She is the author of an acclaimed adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children and has written three novels: Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo; Betsey Brown; and Liliane. Her poetry includes nappy edges, A Daughter's Geography, Ridin' the Moon in Texas and From Okra to Greens. Her first collection of plays was published by Methuen Drama in 1978.
Review Quotes:
"...if there's another writer in America who can write prose like this - with this sort of intricate layering of linguistic play - I wish someone would direct me to them.... If Shelley were reborn as a black woman in the mid-20th century, maybe he would write like this.... Shange roars with pure literary fire." --The San Francisco Chronicle
"The energy of Ntozake Shange's writing is often spellbinding.... lost in language & sound is an enthralling look into the engaged life and mind of a huge-hearted storyteller." --The Dallas Morning News "The raw power of her writing, from the subject matter to her unconventional punctuation, aligns perfectly with the crescendo of for colored girls's success.... This is a profoundly personal yet all-encompassing exploration of words, movement, and the state of race in America." --Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "...emotional, grateful and often wise." --Kirkus Reviews