2. Patricia Smith
Born in 1955
Poet, teacher, performance
artist and author
2008 national book award
finalist
Teahouse of the Almighty
Close to Death
Life According to Motown
3. A selection of Patricia’s poetry has been
produced as a one woman play by a
Nobel prize winner
Life According to Motown, was staged by
Company One Theater in Hartford Ct.,
and reviewed favorably in The New York
Times
In October of 2006, during the Gwendolyn
Brooks Creative Writing Conference at
Chicago State University, Patricia was
inducted into the International Literary
Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent
4. Quotes
The President Files Over – “Every moment
I’m awake, aroused instrumentals channel
theme songs, speaking what I cannot.”
Won’t be but a Minute – “He gon’ be all
right. That dog done been rained on
before, he done been here a day or two
by hisself before and we sho’ can’t take
him.”
5. Quotes (cont’d)
“Paddling in frantic blue circle, he fights
his slippery chain, treads toward a little bit
more of remember-Damn dog ain’t
nuthin’ but trouble. But I loves me some
Luther B. I loves him to death”(21).
“The weakened mob veers into the open
for breath. Ashy babies bellow, B-boys hurl
gold-toothed fuck-its, everyone asks for
food..”(26).
6. Writing Strategies
Emotion – makes you feel horrible for the
victims of hurricane Katrina
Relation – describes scenes so well that
you feel like you were there
Informative- giving out information about
what happened as it happened
Legitimacy- true stories allow the reader
to know what they are reading is true.
7. Questions
Does a reader need to be a resident of New
Orleans, or have experienced tragedy to
understand what the author Is talking about?
What did you think when hurricane Katrina
hit?
What was your favorite poem out of this book
and could you relate?
Has anyone had a relation to someone who
was involved in hurricane katrina?
Has anyone volunteered anywhere else with
any other natural disaster?
