| The Children of Children Keep Coming: An Epic Griotsong |  | Author: Russell L Goings
Creator: Kim Bridgford
Publisher: Karen Hunter
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
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Rating:  11 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416566465
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.6
EAN: 9781416566465
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Product Description
The Children of Children Keep Coming is an awe-inspiring contribution to literature. A breathtaking form of poetic expression, this unique work presents a riveting chronicle of the African American experience in the United States. The dramatic odyssey opens with two anonymous slaves running to catch the Freedom Train, where at journey's end they hope to find liberation. Along the way, they encounter fields of laborers sowing seeds, plodding hard under sun high and moon low, working to end slavery. The toilers are sustained by work songs that at one moment express the dreams and fears of the downtrodden and at another moment burst forth with unbound faith and optimism. These determined travelers, with dangerous crows circling around them, roam through fields holding their dead; step over graves of the once enslaved; walk across beds of red, white, and blue flowers, all for the opportunity to march on the green lawns of democracy. Throughout their entangled journey, they meet imaginary and mythological characters. But it is down by the riverside where their belief that a time of change will come is affirmed by engagements with "giants" such as Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday, Hank Aaron, Sojourner Truth, and Rosa Parks. The Children of Children Keep Coming is strung seamlessly together -- by poetry and prose, blues and gospel, hymns and jazz, work songs and prayers -- forcing the universal harmony of the cry for freedom and justice to reach an unforgettable pitch that cannot be ignored. This astounding mosaic of voices is accentuated by the images of Romare Bearden.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
Blessed Be the Rock March 3, 2009
Jennifer Coissiere (Georgia)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I read the last words of The Children of Children Keep Coming: An Epic Griotsong by Russell L. Goings, the first thing that popped into my head was blessed be the rock; thank you Jesus. Mr. Goings combined fictional characters with actual historic icons, whose sacrifices and determination made a lot of what we have today very possible. The entire story was written in poetry. At times, as I read, I could visualize the scene taking place. I felt the prayers, the chants, and songs along the way.
Mr. Goings introduced me to James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. Dred Scott was another unknown to me before reading The Children of Children Keep Coming. Also, I have to mention the sketches throughout the book. Romare Bearden, the artist, did not get extremely elaborate with the images. He kept it simple, which was the right touch, since the topic of slavery and equality is a deep subject. In this one book, I read about those who were considered the property of others, up to where segregation was abolished and the freedom bell rang.
The Children of Children Keep Coming: An Epic Griotsong is a book that I will pass on to my children. I recommend every family have a copy in their house. Families can take turns reading various verses and learn something new from every page
Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub
It is like a train ride through history: My stop is the White House January 13, 2009
Greg Smith (Brooklyn USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As an African American child, teachers seemed to draw a blank as to how to give us meat during Black History month. I mean, we got the standard "Black people are strong" and " they heralded great triumphs over slavery and prejudice" from well intentioned educators who tried to share what they knew. The windows in the classroom were tinted with cut outs of Harriet Tubman and Rev. Martin Luther King as a visual aid to any discussion about great Black leaders. There was always some little girl dressed as Rosa Parks and a little boy as George Washington Carver (complete with a peanut model for emphasis) identified to stand before the February Assembly to recite what they had learned about Black people during the month. But for me that was not enough. Oh how I yearned... for enough.
This book, The Children of the Children... completes a lack in creative study of how my ancestors must have felt and how their struggle continues. In a poetic tense, it makes it as riveting The Odyssey or The Illaid, the adventures of Siddhartha or the Bhava Gita... except the story is not foreign to me... it's as exotic but so familiar. More over it is a timely celebration of the dream of the slave: President Barack Obama.
The Children of Children is mine. It is ours. I am one of the children and I will make sure that all the young people I know... will be one of the children. This book is a must for all American's who care enough about that long train ride through history... like me you can get off at the White house.
In The Presence of Greatness January 25, 2009
A. Mott (New York City)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Every once in a while one comes across a book which simply feels - vast - important - full of energy. The Children of Children is such a book. It's a ROOTS for everyone. A reminder that we are not just "us" but actually part of a continual wave of "uses" which keeps washing the shores of this great planet earth in hopes that each succeeding wave will begin to get it "right."
For Russell Goings to write this book in this time -- for this book to be published on January 13th, just 7 days before the most amazing inauguration this country or world has ever seen -- there is a universal All That Is - we are ALL ONE -- and Russell Goings has given it a voice.
You will not care what color your skin is - you will just be glad this book fell into your hands.
REQUIRED READING February 1, 2009
Lisa Horowitz
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bravo! Like the urgent voices of the "children of the children" who sing out in this book-length, epic poem, Russell Goings is a force to be reckoned with. His sweeping and melodic verse washes over us in waves, lending new life to the successive generations he seems so effortlessly to channel. The reader is filled with hope, faith, and the powerful rhythm of incantatory prayer.
Mr. Goings' book comes at the perfect moment in our history. On the heels of President Obama's extraordinary inauguration, we, the totality of the American people, need Mr. Goings' inspiring words. They remind us that only by opening our individual and collective eyes to history can we open our hearts, and together heal and go on to create a more responsible and compassionate future.
A must-read for every man, woman, and child who chooses to live in our rich, multi-cultural society, and strengthen it through honesty, dignity, mutual respect, and solidarity. Thank you, Mr. Goings, for guiding us toward the light.
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - A Memorable Book For A Memorable Time September 1, 2009
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Alex Haley's Roots brought to the screen a more thorough account of heritage, struggle and triumph. As I was reading the introduction to THE CHILDREN OF CHILDREN KEEP COMING: An Epic Griotsong, Roots immediately came to mind. THE CHILDREN OF CHILDREN begins with the spotlight on two runaway slaves. Their destiny is the Freedom Train where they have hopes of reaching freedom and liberation.
Interestingly done, Goings allows the slaves to dwell in the past, present and future. They encounter fields of laborers, plodding under sun high and moon low, and they are acutely aware that the toilers are sustained by work songs, that express the dreams and fears of the downtrodden and that also burst forth with unbound faith and optimism. The two travelers seek refuge where they can find it, as they roam through fields, stepping over graves of the once enslaved. Throughout their journey, they meet imaginary and mythological characters. At some point, they come to the full knowledge that there is a better future when Gongs exposes them to "giants" such as Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday, Hank Aaron, Sojourner Truth, and Rosa Parks. The voices of both real and symbolic characters speak through Goings, who wears the cloak of griot and prophet, a vulnerable soul, and a gifted writer. The genius of the book is based on how it is seamlessly connected by poetry and prose, blues and gospel, hymns and jazz, and work songs and prayers. The universal harmony with the runaway's cry for freedom and justice reaches a shattering pitch.
THE CHILDREN OF CHILDREN KEEP COMING: An Epic Griotsong is a powerful collection of poems that traces the journey of African-Americans in this country; that transcends pain and struggle and provides a vehicle for transformation. The rhythmic input is interwoven in a way that lends to a weightiness that is light on its feet because of its musical flow. This astounding mosaic of voices is accentuated by the images of Romare Bearden. An added bonus is a Glossary which offers information on African-Americans from all walks of life.
Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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