Book Arts Collection
Works by African American Artists
For My People
Walker, Margaret. For my people. New York: Limited Editions Club, 1992.
PS3545 .A517 F6 1992 FLAT, Rare
Lithographs by Elizabeth Catlett illustrate Margaret Walker's powerful poem, For my people, that both highlights African American struggles and celebrates Black culture and race.
Cane
Toomer, Jean. Cane. San Francisco, [Calif.] : Arion Press, 2000.
PS3539 .O478 C35 2000 FLAT, Rare
Jean Toomer was born in 1894 and is the grandson of P. B. S. Pinchback, a Reconstruction politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor and briefly as the acting Governor of Louisiana. Toomer wrote Cane after spending time in Sparta, Georgia in the 1920s where he found the legacy of slavery strongly affected life in the Black Belt. -- Afterword by Leon T. Litwack. Marin Puryear is best known for his sculptures, and his minimalist, linear designs printed via woodcuts illustrate this text.
Island Girl
Banks, Alisa. Island Girl. Dallas, Tex.: A B Press, 2008.
N7433.4 .B36 I85 2008 FLAT, Rare
"Island Girl re-tells a story of longing, rejection, acceptance and pride that my mother, who grew up on the False River in Louisiana, often told us. It is in the form of one of the floursack dresses the children wore."--Alicia Banks
Poule Aye
Banks, Alisa. Poule Aye. Dallas, Tex.: A B Press, 2008.
N7433.4 .B36 P68 2008, Rare
Accordion and tunnel book structure exploring the artist's father's sense of place in Louisiana. The tunnel book reveals a shotgun style house and a 'field of text' represented by the accordion structure.
Mask
Kennedy, Amos Paul, Jr. Mask. Bloomington, Ind.: A. P. Kennedy, Jr., 2000.
N7433.4 .K46 A71 2000 FLAT, Rare
Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. uses wood and lead type as a sort of vibrating image in much of his work, including this one. The poem "Mask" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar is the inspiration for this piece. This version is printed on handmade paper with heavily inked woodcuts and type, one masking the other.
Lissen' Here!
Jones, Dorothy Mallory & Philip Mallory Jones. Lissen' Here! 2006.
PS3610 .O625 L5 2006 FLAT, Rare
Mother and son collaboration of poetry, family lore, family photographs, and found photos.
Blood Migration
Metoyer, John. Blood Migration. [South Dennis, Mass.]: 21st, published by Steven Albahari, [c2008].
PS3613 .E86 B56 2008 LARF, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections
Photographs by John Metoyer, ancestor of Marie Thérèse Coincoin Metoyer, the first freed enslaved person to build and operate a plantation. She called the buildings on the property Yucca House and African House. Later, the property became Melrose Plantation, where Clementine Hunter worked and began painting. John Metoyer pairs autobiographical poetry with platinum, palladium, kallitype and cyanotype photographic prints.
The first book of Moses, called Genesis: the King James version
Lawrence, Jacob. The first book of Moses, called Genesis: the King James version. New York, N.Y.: Limited Editions Club, 1989.
BS1233 .L5 1989 FLAT, Rare
Bright, multi-colored, screen prints depict an animated minister preaching to his congregation, surrounded by stained glass, throughout this text of Genesis.
Porgy & Bess
Heyward, DuBose & George Gershwin. Porgy & Bess. San Francisco [California]: The Arion Press, 2013.
ML50 .G384 P7 2013 OVER, Rare
Illustrated by Kara Walker via lithograph in her iconic silhouette technique.