Civil Wars

By June Jordan

Book Overview

A meditation on the private and public fault lines which divide American society.

In Civil Wars, June Jordan's battleground is the intersection of private and public reality, which she explores through a blending of personal reflection and political analysis. From journal entries on the line between poetry and politics and a discussion of language and power in "White" versus "Black" English, to First Amendment issues, children's rights, Black studies, American violence, and sexuality, Jordan documents the very personal ways in which she meshes with the social issues of modern-day life in this country.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684814048
• ISBN13: 9780684814049
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A personal look at social issues

In Civil Wars, poet and activist June Jordan explores political issues through a very personal lens. This collection of essays, speeches, and letters, previously published but presented in this text with contextualizing annotations, masterfully blends public and private spheres. Jordan looks at critical issues such as race, homosexuality, linguistic differences, and violence by drawing on events in her own life and telling her intersecting story through vibrant prose. For instance, Jordan examines the power differential between "White" and "Black" English by discussing her novel His Own Where in relation to Shakespeare and questioning the linguistic hierarchy that values particular codes over other alternatives. Civil Wars is an engaging, moving text that will make you think deeply about social justice through a personal perspective. A must read!

'Observations from the Front Lines of America'

June Jordan's collection of essays spans almost twenty years of her life, from her days as a young mother "learning to see" the world around her and beginning to make her own actions seen and voice heard, through her growing involvement in Civil Rights demonstrations, the beginnings of her teaching career, and later on in her life as a Black woman still fighting for justice using her weapon of choice: words. This book explores Jordan's perspective on and experience with a variety of topics, including race riots, urban housing, educational language policy, children's rights, university Black Studies programs, African liberation, land reform, and the politics of publishing. Her combination of social political commentary and personal reflection is thought-provoking and accessible to a diverse audience of readers. Her writing is clear and passionate, and most pieces, previously published, are prefaced by background information that places them historically. This is a book to be savored both for what it says and how it says it.