The Book
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RESURRECTING THE BONES is a book of poetry by Jacinta V. White, born out of her journey visiting African American churches & cemeteries in the rural South. Published by Press 53, the collection of 37 poems attempts to convey the impressions the poet received through her visits to churches & cemeteries in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas (see listing here).
ISBN: 978-1-950413-10-2 $14.95 9 x 6 inch paperback, 78 pages Reviews: Jacinta White’s extraordinary voice draws its energy from an underrepresented perspective of religion and the black female body politic. Her multi-layered poetics carry us into the depths of subtlety, power, and abundant compassion… grace inside the personal of spirituality. Resurrecting the Bones is a divining rod guiding us past shores where ancestral ghosts have forgotten their names but still manage to write themselves home over and over again in-between all the expressive lines in this collection. - Jaki Shelton Green, Poet Laureate of North Carolina Jacinta V. White’s Resurrecting the Bones will not let southern African American history be silenced by re-zoning, gentrification, and useful forgetfulness. White’s poems are Dr. Sheila Smith Mckoy’s “limbo time” in action. Each poem is a personal and historical guide through the richness and fullness of black southern culture and the mighty black church. White’s language is hard-hitting, tender, and cosmic. Her images are sharp and unforgettable. The poems are narrative with a lyrical pulse that pulls the reader deeper into the rural landscape. A must read! —Tyree Daye, author of River Hymns, winner of the 2017 APR/Honikman Book Prize White’s Resurrecting the Bones is a beautiful collection of poetry inspired by African-American churches and cemeteries in the rural South. History, culture, place, space, religion, life, and death intermingle in these powerful, elegant, and rich poetic expressions. Whether read as research or simply for pleasure, this engaging collection is bound to transport and inspire you. - Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., author of Method Meets Art and Spark |
Jacinta V. White offers us a glorious history of places and spaces that do more than reveal the nature of buildings and grounds. This work ushers readers into the feeling of these spaces by giving voice to the hopeful people who dwelled there. Ms. White still senses a rocking in the not-yet- rotten wooden planks on the floors of these old places of worship, places where so many genuflected in hope and walked with a dignified faith. A wondrous achievement!
- Derek S. Hicks, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture at Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity, and author of Reclaiming Spirit in the Black Faith Tradition Part meditation, part prayer, and part act of resurrection, White’s lush poetry evokes the complex interweaving of ancestry, praise, and everyday interaction that comprise black church life in the South. Her captivating lines demonstrate how the boundaries between the living and the dead, the church and the home, and violence and reverence, are inextricably bound in the African-American experience. It is a family story and a deeply personal reflection on that history. -Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp Washington University in St. Louis, and author of Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories, 1780-1920 |
See Jacinta read "Benediction," the last poem (an erasure) in the collection, at her book launch, Sept. 2019. Watch to the end for the impromptu dance :-).
The Writer's Almanac
Two of Jacinta's poems from Resurrecting the Bones were recently featured on The Writer's Almanac, two consecutive days! Read and hear them being read by Garrison Keillor by clicking the link below. "The Sleeping" & "Gumbo Soil" |