Contact: Collette Fournier
(845)
352-2648, fournierandco@aol.com
The
Sweet Breath of Life
A Poetic
Narrative of The African-American Family
By Frank
Stewart, Poems by Ntozake Shange
In The Sweet
Breath of Life (Atria Books; October 26, 2004; $30.00; Hardcover, Non-Fiction)
an inspiring venture from celebrated poet Ntozake Shange and an acclaimed group
of photographers words and images come together to give definition to the
beauty and wonder of contemporary African-American culture.
Collaborations
between writers and photographers have provided African-Americans with an
important focus for issues of identity and representation (or lack thereof),
ever since the first publication of The
Sweet Flypaper of Life by Langston Hughes and Roy DeCarava in 1967.
Titled and
designed in that tradition, The Sweet Breath of Life, is a literary and visual narrative, showing how
African-American-particularly Ntozake Shange and the photographers of Kamoinge,
Inc.- view themselves now, in the first decade of the new millennium. Renowned
photographer Roy DeCarava, who became the first president of the Kamoinge
Workshop in 1963, set the aesthetic and philosophical tone of the group- a
response to the biased representation of African-Americans in the media. As
image-makers, the Kamoinge members have sought to shed positive light on their
subjects, and to demystify black life in America.
With 140 black
and white stunning photographs from such acclaimed photographers in Anthony Barboza,
Adger W. Cowans, Collette Fournier, Ming Smith Murray, Eli Reed, and Beuford
Smith, and poems by Ntozake Shange, whose choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuuf
has become a classic,
The
Sweet Breath of Life, is
a rich, timeless, and thought-provoking book. Like Crown: Portraits of Black Woman
in Church Hats, it is a treasure to keep, and a perfect gift for any
and all holidays and celebrations.
-continues-
About the Author:
Frank Stewart
is a writer and an award-winning photographer. He lives in New York City.
Ntozake Shange
poet, novelist,
and performer wrote the Broadway-produced and Obie Award- winning For Colored Girls Who Have Considered
Suicide/When the Rainbow if Enuuf. She lives in
Gainesville,
Florida.
Photographer
Collette Fournier, a member of Kamoinge, Inc., is a resident of Rockland
County, teaches Photography and is the CollegeAfs staff photographer for the
Campus Communications Department at SUNY Rockland Community College. Ms.
Fournier has photographed for The Journal-News, The Bergen Record, The New York
Post, Emerge and Essence Magazines and aboutActime magazine. (Rochester, NY).
Ms. Fournier has a MFA in Visual Arts from the Union Institute and University
at Vermont College and a Bachelor of Science from the Rochester Institute of
Technology. Among her activities, she serves on the board of The Arts Alliance
of Haverstraw (AAH!) and is Co-Chair of the African American History Month
Committee at SUNY Rockland.
In 2004, she
received a Community Service Award from the Rockland County Legislature for the
Arts. The artist is writing a personal narrative on photography and maintains a
vivacious exhibition schedule.
Ms. Fournier
will be signing copies of AgThe Sweet Breath of LifeAh book at several locations throughout
January and February 2005.
Sunday, January 9, 2005
Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 140 Rockland Plaza,
Nanuet, NY
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Info: Marion Sheeran, Community Relations (845)
348-4713
Saturday, January 15, 2005
George NAfNamdi Gallery, 526 W. 26th St.
Suite 316, NY, NY
11:00am – 6:00pm, Closing Exhibition/Booksigning
Info: Heather (212) 929-6645, www.grnnamdi.com
Friday, February 11, 2005
MacyAfs 34th St. 6th Avenue and Broadway,
NY, NY
6:00pm
Info: Audra Boltion, Publicity Manager Atria Books audra.boltion@simonandschuster.com
Tele: (212) 698-7092 Fax: (212) 632-8083
-continues-
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Louis Kurtz Center, 9 No. Main St. Spring Valley,
NY
12:00pm – 6:00pm, Black Heritage Celebration
Info:
Heather Carty Ward, CEJJES Institute
Tele: (845) 362-8610
###