{"product_id":"dirty-bird-blues-paperback","title":"Dirty Bird Blues - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eClarence Major\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eYusef Komunyakaa\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by), \u003cb\u003eJohn Beckman\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA quietly influential force in African American literature and art, Clarence Major makes his Penguin Classics debut with the \u003cb\u003etwenty-fifth-anniversary\u003c\/b\u003e edition of \u003ci\u003eDirty Bird Blues\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe PRH Audio book of Dirty Bird Blues by Clarence Major won a 2022 EARPHONE AWARD. Narrated by Dion Graham.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Penguin Classic\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSet in post-World War II Chicago and Omaha, the novel features Manfred Banks, a young, harmonica-blowing blues singer who is always writing music in his head. Torn between his friendships with fellow musicians and nightclub life and his responsibilities to his wife and child, along with the pressures of dealing with a racist America that assaults him at every turn, Manfred seeks easy answers in \"Dirty Bird\" (Old Crow whiskey) and in moving on. He moves to Omaha with hopes of better opportunities as a blue-collar worker, but the blues in his soul and the dreams in his mind keep bringing him back to face himself. After a nightmarish descent into his own depths, Manfred emerges with fresh awareness and possibility. Through Manfred, we witness and experience the process by which modern American English has been vitalized and strengthened by the poetry and the poignancy of the African-American experience. As Manfred struggles with the oppressive constraints of society and his private turmoil, his rich inner voice resonates with the blues.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA painter, poet, novelist, and anthology editor, \u003cb\u003eClarence Major \u003c\/b\u003ehas written over ten volumes of poetry and seven works of fiction and edited two anthologies. He has been awarded a 2016 PEN Oakland\/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2015 \"Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts\" by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, a Fulbright Fellowship, a National Council on the Arts Fellowship, and two Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Book Award finalist. Major is a distinguished professor emeritus of twentieth century American literature at the University of California, Davis. He retired in 2007. \u003ci\u003eThe Essential Clarence Major\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 2020. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eYusef Komunyakaa\u003c\/b\u003e won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for \u003ci\u003eNeon Vernacular\u003c\/i\u003e. His other collections include \u003ci\u003eWarhorses, Taboo\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of Water Clocks, \u003c\/i\u003eand his most recent collection, \u003ci\u003eEveryday Mojo Songs of Earth\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew and Selected Poems 2001-2021\u003c\/i\u003e. A former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Komunyakaa is the recipient of the 2021 Griffin Prize Lifetime Recognition Award, 2011 Wallace Stevens Award, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the William Faulkner Prize, among other honors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 7.6 x 5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 08, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42698864328767,"sku":"9780143136590","price":21.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/64ad0a0ce1843d72c831f4efb3a9c2a7.webp?v=1765011616","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/dirty-bird-blues-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}