"This is the
One book you want
When the snow's pilled high
You can't see the ground
You can't see the sky
You'll read and laugh
You'll read and cry
You'll slap yourself
Where you sit
Ask yourself
How or why."
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B.A.A.D.
– Beautiful African American Daughters
– Poems of Tribute by Ira E. Harrison
book review by Barbara Bamberger Scott
"This is the
One book you want
When the snow's pilled high
You can't see the ground
You can't see the sky
You'll read and laugh
You'll read and cry
You'll slap yourself
Where you sit
Ask yourself
How or why."
B.A.A.D is the latest book by Ira E. Harrison, aka Dr. Poet. Historian of the Georgia Poetry Society and the author of three previous books of poems, Harrison has now produced a vibrant collection proclaiming his appreciation for the African-American women ("beautiful, agile, entertaining Africans from Egypt to the Aegean and the Americas") who have impacted his life in ways large and small:
Sisters like sharp silver scissors
Who cut to the quick
Built far flung families
Prettier and stronger than machine-made brick.
The poems appear in alphabetical order according to the names of the women to which they are dedicated. Some are about the women who helped raise and shape the author's life, such as his great aunt Mary Richardson (You and God/watched over me/before I could crawl/Or climb a tree). Some are tributes to noted African American females who have inspired through achievement (To Judge Leah Ward Sears/An original/whose career skies higher/than Count Dirigible). Others are simply odes to those the author has felt great affection for over the years (I'm head over heels.../Heading for you again). The author's admiration for women of strength, grace and resolve persists throughout.
Dr. Harrison (PH.D, Syracuse) is both accomplished and gifted; his poems have appeared in myriad publications ranging from the Washington Tribune to the Book of Tennessee Writers. While the content is strong, the collection would be more satisfying with better editing:. One poem ("My Girl") appears twice, and there are occasional typos throughout the book.
All in all, B.A.A.D is one man's deep appreciation for the African American women who have inspired him over the course of his life. It will be warmly received by any who have been similarly affected.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review