17 August 2007 | Vol. 7, No. 2
Book Lover's Club Minutes
July 4, 1946 Charleston
We opened with the Club song, followed by the Lord's Prayer. The minutes were read and we dealt with all at hand: the Club tea, Wright and his "Black Boy," alms to the poor, and the Urban League's request that all Negroes stay away from the State Fair. Negroes are appointed to one particular day. We closed with a vote to stay away, withhold our money, and shake our heads. I've cried for this, for my grandson, for the lost giggles in the House of Mirrors, the held breath on the Ferris wheel, for the cotton candy I would have wiped from his cheeks.
About the author:
Kevin Simmonds is a writer and musician originally from New Orleans. His work has been in journals such as Callaloo, FIELD, Massachusetts Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and in the Cave Canem anthologies Gathering Ground and The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South. He lives in San Francisco.
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by Kevin Simmonds at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 7, No. 2, where "Book Lover's Club Minutes" ran on August 17, 2007. List other work with these same labels: poetry, prose poem.
