{"product_id":"the-fifth-figure-paperback","title":"The Fifth Figure - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJean 'binta' Breeze\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\tJean 'Binta' Breeze was a popular Jamaican Dub poet and storyteller \u003cbr\u003ewhose performances were so powerful she has been called a 'one-woman \u003cbr\u003efestival'. \u003ci\u003eThe Fifth Figure\u003c\/i\u003e is a book-length sequence mixing \u003cbr\u003epoetry and prose which chronicles the lives of five generations of \u003cbr\u003eCaribbean and Black British women of mixed ancestry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\tPart novel, part poem, part family memoir, its structure is based on \u003cbr\u003ethe Jamaican quadrille, a hybrid version of the dance brought from \u003cbr\u003eEurope by the island's former colonial masters. Beginning in the late \u003cbr\u003e19th century with her great-great grandmother's first quadrille, Breeze \u003cbr\u003etells a many-layered tale of love and betrayal, innocence and suffering, \u003cbr\u003e hardship and joy over a hundred years as each mother sees her daughter \u003cbr\u003ejoin a dance that shapes her life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\t\u003ci\u003eThe Fifth Figure\u003c\/i\u003e was her sixth book, and saw Breeze breathing \u003cbr\u003enew life into the dramatic monologue. Steeped in the history of Jamaica, \u003cbr\u003e the book develops the possibilities of narrative, voice and rhythm, \u003cbr\u003eoffering an eloquent and empowering vision of Caribbean lives and \u003cbr\u003eculture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2011 Bloodaxe published Jean 'Binta' Breeze's \u003ci\u003eThird World Girl: Selected Poems\u003c\/i\u003e, a DVD-book selection of new and previously published work with live performances on the accompanying DVD. This does include work from \u003ci\u003eThe Fifth Figure\u003c\/i\u003e, which remains available as a separate edition, nor the later collection, \u003cem\u003eThe Verandah Poems\u003c\/em\u003e (2016).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJean\u003cbr\u003e 'Binta' Breeze (1956-2021) was an internationally-renowned poet. Born \u003cbr\u003ein Hanover, Jamaica, she first visited London in 1985 to take part in \u003cbr\u003ethe International Book Fair of Radical and Third World Books, and she \u003cbr\u003econtinued to write, perform and teach until a collapsed lung resulted in\u003cbr\u003e early retirement to Jamaica. She published eight books of poetry and \u003cbr\u003estories. Answers (Jamaica, 1982), Riddym Ravings (Race Today, UK, 1988), \u003cbr\u003e Spring Cleaning (Virago, 1992) were followed by On the Edge of an \u003cbr\u003eIsland (1997), The Arrival of Brighteye (2000), The Fifth Figure (2006), \u003cbr\u003e Third World Girl: Selected Poems (2011, with DVD) and The Verandah \u003cbr\u003ePoems (2016) from Bloodaxe. She also released several records, cassettes\u003cbr\u003e and CDs, including Tracks and Eena Me Corner with the Dennis Bovell Dub\u003cbr\u003e Band and Riding On De Riddym: selected spoken works (57 Productions). \u003cbr\u003eShe performed her work throughout the world, including tours of the \u003cbr\u003eCaribbean, Britain, North America, Europe, South East Asia and Africa, \u003cbr\u003eand latterly divided her time between Jamaica and England. She received a\u003cbr\u003e NESTA Award in 2003, and an MBE in 2012 for services to literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Edit\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Move Up\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Move Down\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Delete \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * indicates that this field may be required when disseminating data to 3rd parties. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e +2 indica\n        \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 82\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.3 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 28, 2006\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42692969660479,"sku":"9781852247324","price":22.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/bec5bcaf713a292b8805839358aa8298.webp?v=1764997278","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/the-fifth-figure-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}