The Complete Works of Pat Parker

Pat Parker

During her lifetime, Pat Parker was a renowned African-American, lesbian-feminist poet and performer. She was the author of Jonestown & Other Madness (1985), Movement in Black (1978, 1983, 1989, 1999), Womanslaughter (1978), Pit Stop (1974, 1975), and Child of Myself (1972, 1974). Her poems appeared in numerous journals, newspapers, and anthologies. With Judy Grahn, she recorded the album Where Would I Be Without You (Olivia Records, 1976), and one of her spoken poems appeared on the album Lesbian Concentrate..’–

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“my closet door has no key; it’s impossible for me to go lock myself in it.” Pat Parker

African-American lesbian feminist poet and performer Pat Parker (1944-1989) is probably best known for her collection Movement in Black. Initially published in 1978 with an introduction by Audre Lorde and reissued with additional material multiple times, Movement in Black and its title poem, written for multiple female voices, are one of the poetic LGBTQ landmarks of the 1970s and 80s. Although Pat Parker also published pieces in journals and anthologies, three chapbooks, and another full length collection, Jonestown & Other Madness, finding these and other work by this seminal figure has been difficult.

The arrival of The Complete Works of Pat Parker therefore comes as a revelation. Edited by scholar and poet Julie R. Enszer and with over 100 pages of for the most part previously unpublished poems from Parker’s archives, it broadens our understanding of Pat Parker as a poet and radical activist. Featuring two plays, a selection of speeches, and prose piecesincluding fragments of an unfinished autobiography as well as poetry from manuscripts and all of her booksThe Complete Works of Pat Parker allows us to see the author as a constantly working artist and thinker, as well as an important part of the gay rights, women’s liberation, and black civil rights movements.

Born in Houston, Texas, Parker moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school and lived in the San Francisco Bay area until her death from cancer in 1989. Her poetry is direct, plainspoken, and written in simple, clear language that is meant to be read or recited aloud. (She also recorded an album with fellow poet Judy Grahn, who provides the foreword to this collection). The Pat Parker that emerges here is one of the fore-mothers’ of the Spoken Word movement, with much of the work focusing on racism and sexism. Many of her poems have topical subjects or references, relating directly to problems or situations in the world of the 1970s and 80s. However, some of these topical’ poems feel contemporary and could be read from stages today with few changes:

Oh sister,

my dear sister

safe in Nebraska flatlands

secluded in ivory towers

Think for one minute

If you in this decade

are so tired of

hearing about oppression:

How tired are we

of living it.

Parker could also effectively use humor to get her point across (“For the Straight Folks Who Don’t Mind Gays But Wish They Weren’t So BLATANT”) and penned a number of very touching love poems. Also included in The Complete Works of Pat Parker are song lyrics, rare photographs, and drawings.

Although the book nearly doubles the amount of Parker material available to the general reader and is titled Complete, editor Julie Enszer admits that there is more material to be rediscovered including pages of an unfinished novel. One hopes scholars will take up Enszer’s challenge to use the book as a starting point for further research and to engage more deeply in the world of Pat Parker and her work. Even more vital is that writers and readers rediscover this important figure of our community. In her introduction Judy Grahn calls Parker’s work a “drum-call to action and activism.” In this time of resurgent political engagement, Pat Parker’s hard truths, clarity, passion, and vision remain relevant and needed to take on the challenges of our still new century.

Each generation improves the world

for the next.

My grandparents willed me strength.

My parents willed me pride.

I will to you rage.

I give you a world incomplete

a world where

women still

are property and chattel

where

color still

shuts doors

where

sexual choice still

threatens

but I give you

a legacy

of doers

of people who take risks

to chisel the crack wider.

(from “Legacy”)

~ Reginald Harris

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Details

ISBN	9781938334221
Genre	Poetry; Black Interest
Publication Date	Oct-16
Publisher	A Midsummer Nights Press
Editor	Julie R. Enszer
No. of Pages	487
Notes	Lambda Literary Award Winner, Lesbian Poetry
LoC Classification	PS3566.A6847 .A14 2016
Language	English
Rating	Great
Editor	Julie R. Enszer
Subject	African American Lesbians; African American lesbians–Poetry; Lesbians; Lesbians–Poetry
BookID	2336

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The Complete Works of Pat Parker by Pat Parker