Customer Reviews (1)

Meant to Be?
John Canoe is an artist essentially living his life in isolation.He sells his work through his affiliation with a cooperative of artists, and also works as a school teacher.While John has many acquaintances, he doesn't have anyone that he can truly call a friend.Early in the book his mother reminds him that at age 33, he needs to be looking for a meaningful relationship so that he can marry and have children.Even in his adulthood John struggles with his identity, his mother is white and his father is black and his experiences with racism from both races have left him wondering where he fits in.John shares a close relationship with his mother, who lives in Chicago, but has a strained relationship with his father, a notable physician, who divorced his mother years ago.

Susie Chang works for a publishing company and is an amateur poet.She is an American born Chinese woman that has more or less been cut off from her family.Susie is constantly at odds with the cultural norms and expectations of her family, even her move across country and away from her family is frowned upon.

Susie and John meet at a Collective opening and it is practically love at first sight.What ensues is a whirlwind relationship wrought with ups and downs ranging from typical relationship issues, such as problems with communication, to more complicated issues like familial rejection.

ONE FLESH had the potential to be a five star book. The primary plot of the story was thorough and fairly unique.My problem with the book was that the author introduced too many subplots that he never resolved.These subplots could have provided interesting twists and turns but instead they acted more like a dangling carrot.I would love to see a sequel that would address some of the unresolved issues and provide an update on John and Susie's relationship.Overall, I enjoyed the book and believe it would make for a great book club discussion.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers ... Read more

Amazon.com
Clarence Major is an avant-garde novelist, short-story writer, and poet known for his bold experiments with language and style. What many don't know, however, is that Major can be a fine storyteller, capable of bringing his formidable talents to more conventional narrative forms as in this novel. This is the story of Manfred Banks, a blues musician in the early 1950s. We follow Man, as he's nicknamed, as he tries to woo his estranged wife, Cleo, as he struggles to make a living playing his music in Chicago, and then leaves for Omaha, where he finds work in a steel mill, and a weekend gig playing in a bar. When Cleo rejoins him things look as if they are finally coming together, but this is the kind of man for whom the blues line "if it wasn't for no luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all" was written. Major has written a fine, compelling novel, with language and characters as rich as the blues songs that are its inspiration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Major Talent
Excellent from cover to cover. Takes you inside the mind of a hard-luck blues musician in 1950. Clarence Major's way with words is nothing short of astonishing.

A shot of blues
Why is this out of print?Excellent read.I'm looking for more of his novels.

Poor Drunken Hearted Man
Bluesman Manfred Banks is trying to pursue his dream of being a singer and harmonica-player while living up to his responsibilities as a husband and father. Complicating his efforts to walk the straight and narrow are his addiction to booze (the "dirty bird") and the sometimes destructive influence of his friend and musical partner Solly. In describing Man's struggles with both the racist society that attempts to strip him of his dignity and his own inner demons, the author demonstrates his mastery of a rich and poetic prose style that is steeped in the sound and imagery of the blues. This is a fine evocation of African-American life in the American midwest in the middle of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Book Description
First published in 1969 in severely abridged form, Clarence Major's powerful first novel is now available in an unexpurgated paperback edition that restores the full text of his critically acclaimed and controversial work.

All-Night Visitors is the riveting, erotic, and compelling story of Eli Bolton-orphan, college dropout, Vietnam veteran, and sexual voyager-as he struggles to establish a meaningful self-identity in a chaotic and bigoted world. ... Read more

Book Description
novelist/poet's first collection of short stories ... Read more

Book Description
first paperback edition of Major's Zuni novel ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from African American Review, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2005. The length of the article is 740 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Clarence Major. One Flesh.(Book Review)
Author: Robert Butler
Publication: African American Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 39Issue: 1-2Page: 251(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Don't Jive Talk me Juba...I know the Slanguage!What about you?

This book by Clarence Major is a must have for all cultural groups who want to stay up to date with Afro-Am Slanguage.

Why is that important?Because as our economy expands knowing how to understand and use the slanguage makes you a social threat to those who are ignorant of it.With the ability comes the freedom to go from the Hood to the White House without missing a beat.

And with the awareness of young white children expanding because of the growing epidemic of Hip-Hop suburban parents need to get up on top of it in order to know what in the world their children are saying.

As a matter of fact due to the impact of Hip-Hop language the slanguage has expanded.Now what you don't know keeps you locked out to the point where you're an outsider.But if you want to stay in step tune into this book.

This dictionary is well put together with a great deal of history behind every word.Clarence Major's input in the introduction further preps you for the expansive nature of the African-American culture. Whether you're into expanding your knowledge of language, slanguage, idioms or language development you need to acquire this book and expand your understanding of the history behind Black Slang words.So Juba, what you goin' do?Have me tell you what everyword means? or are you going to step out and take your own life by the horns.

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE

Searched High and Low!Fantastic!
This is one of the best books ever on African American language.And yes, it is a language.The French experiemntal writer Raymond Federman challenged me to write a piece that would be densely and mentally impregnable to anyone but African Americans as American and English Colonies can be to other races.It succeeded on many levels.One, it was a fantastic story and two, it got me to use this book as source for finding new words/terms and as a reference to checking what I already knew.
Thsi book is invaluable to the scholar of language.I spent the last 2 years patiently hunting for this book as it is out of publication.I actually bought it at twice the cover price because it is that good.There is no higher that I can recommend this book.As the tapestry of language is art, this would be one of Picasso's treasured brushes.

Educational AS WELL AS extreamly entertaining
This book is by far the funniest book I've ever peered into. It gives comprehensive definitions, origins, time-periods, and in-context sentences of 99% of African American derived slang.

Educational.Entertaining.

It is explicit language but it is not at all gratuitous. 5HUGE stars. ... Read more

Book Description
Lavish praise for come by here

"With elegant simplicity and uncommon wisdom, Clarence Major gives us not just the truth of his mother's life but the unspoken truth behind the lie of color in the American story. A compelling narrative."
--RillaAskew, author, Fire in Beulah

"A brilliant rendering of a rich and eventful life. With creative insight, love, and admiration, Major shows us how in family life down through the generations, race really matters."
--Andrew Billingsley, author, Climbing Jacob's Ladder:
The Enduring Legacy of African American Families

Critical acclaim for Clarence Major

"Clarence Major has a remarkable mind and the talent to match."
-- Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate

"One of America's most gifted and versatile writers."
-- Library Journal ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Too bad this woman didn't "pass" permanently
Note the woman in this book. She had constant problems trying to be "black" because, when she was out with her children or a black boyfriend, the public saw (accurately) a Caucasian woman with Negroes. Her friend Artie Jones, a fellow mixed-white victimized by Jim Crow racial definitions, tells her that there is no "passing" or difference between "white" and "black." There is nothing she needs to know in order to be "white" - just be herself. Inez comes to realize that it is EASIER for her to be "white" because both "whites" and "blacks" (and everyone else) define people by racial phenotype unless told to do otherwise. Inez also comes to realize that white mulatto women like herself are often considered racial trophies by black men.

Inez comes to realize that, despite the propaganda that she is a "light-skinned black," the REAL blacks either hate or adore her for being so white. Inez has to hide in a car driven by a friend in order to escape the Watts race riot. After all, she is a WHITE and rioting black gangs will not stop to ask every white face if he or she has "black blood" (nor would they care).

Unfortunately, Inez got herself hooked up with a wife-beating black man and bore two of his children because she realized the possibilities before her. Too many girls like Inez are brought up to believe that so-called "pure" whites are gods and that she is unworthy of her European ancestry. The "passer" is the one who realizes that he or she is really "white" if ANYONE is and does not buy the racist nonsense that he/she is some better-looking or superior variety of "black" but unworthy of other whites.

Passing for Who You Really Are

A compelling memoir of a unique life
I've never read anything else by Clarence Major but he does a splendid job of sharing his mother's compelling life as a light-skinned African-American in the days of segregation. Inez's voice is intimate but honest about what she had to do to survive an abusive husband while keeping her childen safe. Inez's eventual move to Chicago to make a better life for herself and her children is full of rich detail. It is during this time she passes herself off as white in order to get good jobs. Inez's unique perspective as a black woman living in a white world is well worth reading. I was also struck by her continuing goal to bring her children to Chicago and also improve her own life. It is a hard book to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Loved it
I read this book within a day, and I enjoyed it. Really. I used to feel contempt for those who passed for white, but in order for one to do better economically and have a more comfortable life, you had to do it. In this book, you have a woman born to a white father and black woman, who survives a difficult marriage and goes to Chicago to make a better life for her and her children. Read it and enjoy.

Come By Here: My Mother's Life
This intimate look at race and its implications captured me the minute I opened this book. Clarence Major, the well-known poet, has written a beautiful and touching memoir on his mother's story.Although African American, Inez realized she could pass as a white woman with her light skin and was determined to not let Jim Crow laws hinder on her life. She embarks on a double identity in order to help her family. In the end, this sacrifice leads to self-discovery and offers readers an important look at racial challenges in our recent history. ... Read more

Book Description
Poet, novelist, essayist, editor, anthologist, lexicographer, and painter, Clarence Major is one of the most challenging, prolific, yet underappreciated contemporary African American artists. This collection combines poetry, prose, and art by Major with critical essays by leading scholars that showcase Major's aesthetic movement across literary, cultural, and political boundaries and illuminate the complex relationship between the artist's writing and painting.

Although Major's artistic vision is grounded in the historical experiences of black and Native American peoples, he boldly experiments with crossing boundaries of all types. His use of different narrative voices is evidence of what editor Bernard Bell calls Major's "double consciousness" as an African American artist.

This collection highlights the breadth of Major's work, his transformation into a postmodern artist, and the hybrid voices of his literary and visual productions. By presenting Major's poetry, novels, and paintings alongside critical interpretations of these works, this book makes possible a long-overdue examination of a multitalented artist. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Clarence Major, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2967 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
Who's Who among African Americans provides biographical and career details on notable African American individuals, including leaders fromsports, the arts, business, religion and more. ... Read more

Book Description

Bringing together critical essays, articles, and reviews by 1999 National Book Award for Poetry finalist, this landmark collection is an impressive look back-and forward-by one of our most visionary authors. From essays on the craft of writing, to critiques of contemporary and classic African-American authors and their work, to observations on the quirkiness of the writing and publishing life, Necessary Distance is a compendium of the best nonfiction prose by an important figure in contemporary American letters.

This collection is a portrait of the artist's rise to prominence in American letters. "A writer is usually a person who has to learn how to keep his ego-like his virginity-and lose it at the same time. In other words, he becomes a kind of twin of himself. He remains that self-centered infant while transcending him to become the observer of his experience and, by extension, the observer of a wide range of experience within his cultural domain." From his apt observations on cultural doubleness, to his redefinition of a political poetry that is "organic in its ideas, . . . that in no way compromised its own artistic nature," to his consumate statement on the concept of rhythm in African -American poetry, Necessary Distance is a sweeping tour of new ground in literature and poetics.

Clarence Major is the author of nine novels, nine books of poetry, and many nonfiction works and was a 1999 finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry for Configurations. Major teaches at the University of California in Davis. He has written for the New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Essence, and dozens of other periodicals.

Book Description
Pivotal stories from post-slavery days through the Harlem Renaissance and into the nineties. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Calling the Wind
I had to read this book during my undergraduate studies.I signed up foran African American Literature course in order to fill another block.Thisclass was excellent because I was able to understand the true meaning ofprotest literature.Many of the authors in this book are the same when itcomes to ethnicity, but very different in their approaches to slavery,Jim-Crowe laws, and freedom.A must read book! ... Read more