Tall Tales & Short Stories from a Singer’s Life & Imagination

Janis-Rozena Peri has crafted a memoir with the grace and artistic timing of a concert performance. Her story is that of a musical Black woman, born to a musical Black mother, in the Midwestern U.S. at the tail end of the segregation era. She takes us on a tour from the land of her birth, to the heights of New York City’s music world, to academe in Virginia and West Virginia. With humor and charm she sketches her sometimes fraught relationships with her formidable mother, her former husband, and others. Her elegant narrative does not stop her from visiting the dark places of her story. In her opening paragraph, she introduces her great-grandfather, born a slave and taught to read by a white person (a capital offense). Later we witness the author as she runs afoul of racism, sexism, and classism at Old Dominion University, only to find a compatible academic home at West Virginia University. Like the songs in a concert, Peri’s stories paint a panorama of what it is to be a musical artist, at the same time that they are small portals onto moments in an individual life. — Faith S. Holsaert, educator, civil rights activist
ASIN: B09CRNHR3T
VSKU: BVV.B09CRNHR3T.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Peri, Janis-Rozena
Binding: Paperback
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.