Furious Flower: The Complete Edition

"The time
cracks into furious flower. Lifts its face
all unashamed. And sways in wicked grace."
––Gwendolyn Brooks, “Second Sermon on the Warpland”

In 1994, 2004 and 2014 the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University organized historic conferences on African American poetry. Leading poets and critics gathered for readings and compelling discussions on the importance of the art form and the state of the field. The organizers had the forethought and insight to document each of the gatherings on video in Furious Flower I, Furious Flower II and Furious Flower III. Now all of these multiple volume videos – nearly fourteen hours of once-in-a-lifetime encounters - are brought together for the first time in Furious Flower – The Complete Edition.

This essential collection represents more than 50 years of artistic movement covering the post World War II era to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s as well as contemporary hip hop spoken word. It explores the trends and theoretical underpinnings which influence the work, the culture of mutual support among the poets and the desire to engage with a community of readers.

We come to appreciate the transformative power of African American poetry and its efforts to engender social and cultural change. Among those featured are Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, Rita Dove, Elizabeth Alexander, Nikki Finney members of the Dark Room and Affrilachian Poets collectives and so many more. Furious Flower – The Complete Edition is a valuable resource for teachers of English, Creative Writing, African American and American Studies.

Furious Flower I

• Elders
• Warriors
• Seers
• Initiates

• Gwendolyn Brooks Tribute

Furious Flower II – The Black Poetic Tradition

• Roots and First Fruits
• Cross-Pollination in the Diaspora

• Blooming in the Whirlwind

Furious Flower III – Seeding the Future of African American Poetry

• Cultivating Form, Creating the Black Aesthetic
• Cultivating a Poetry for Social Change, Resistance and Truth Telling
• Pollinating and Dispersing – Black Poetry Collectives and the Diaspora

• The Flowering of African American Poetry Today