Sam's Book: The Debate on Afro-American Character and Destiny, 1817-1914 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780819561800)

When Sam Ray was killed at nineteen in an accident, his father began writing poetry dedicated to his memory. Sam's Book is a collection of these elegies and other poems written during Sam's lifetime. "How should I mourn?" Ray asks. By recalling poignant events from the past he transcends his grief. He remembers Sam's first bath, a "holy/Rite"; tying the shoelaces of the "little man"; traveling to Greece, where Sam is "the first.../to see the holy moon." With painful wit and regret he summons up the image of his son's blue Toyota, fastidiously transformed by Sam and his girlfriend into a "love nest." Ray muses on what he taught Sam and what Sam taught him.

Author: David Ray
ISBN-10: 0819561800
ISBN-13: 9780819561800
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/01/1987
Pages: 96
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.56w x 0.31d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/15/1987