{"product_id":"truth-be-told-linda-susan-jackson-9781954245969","title":"Truth Be Told","description":"A stunning sophomore release, Linda Susan Jackson's newest poetry collection, \u003ci\u003eTruth be Told\u003c\/i\u003e, looks at the myriad treasures and complexities of Black womanhood by channeling an eclectic cast whose rich interactions testify to the timeless neglect of girlhood, the bond of long-term friendship and the responsibilities of authorship. Here Pecola Breedlove, the protagonist from \u003ci\u003eThe Bluest Eye\u003c\/i\u003e, addresses herself directly to Toni Morrison and connects, over time and space, with Persephone, a girl herself, cycling always toward the seasons, caught between an overbearing mother, an incomprehensible father and a grooming god; Lot's wife sets the record straight about turning back; and our speaker writes to and through her lineage, memorializing her great-grandmother's distilled wisdom and others who have impacted her, such as when she writes to the great blues singer, Etta James. In a meticulous inventory of our world and its historical inheritance, Jackson makes an undaunted cartographer, mapping \"here: rag-wicked IED\" to \"there: t-shaped IUD,\" from \"here: the mother I longed for\" to \" there: the mother I had.\" If Jackson recognizes the distance between our ideals and our reality as a kind of tragedy, she also resists despair, enjoining us to close the gap with hope for the future and to: \"Step here: light the fire\/ Step there: fire the cannon.\" Every poem is a spark struck, a cannonade hailing the resilient and enigmatic joy of language. \"After decades with no history,\" Jackson sagely celebrates, \"That I sing at all is a mystery.\" A mystery, yes, but moreover -- a blessing for those of us enthralled by her song of love. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Linda Susan Jackson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1954245963\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781954245969\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Four Way Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 100\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.41lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.01h x 6.16w x 0.04d","brand":"Linda Susan Jackson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44790489612543,"sku":"9781954245969","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_53641e50-9016-4167-8022-7eee752d98aa.jpg?v=1707289091","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/truth-be-told-linda-susan-jackson-9781954245969","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}