Offthebookshelf.com
Lhea Love
Lhea J. Love is a poet, blogger, author and saleswoman.
Born and reared under the sun sign of Leo, Lhea J. Love was made in Detroit. Daughter of two social workers, Lhea was encouraged at a young age to examine the systems which govern our society and to fearlessly question the authority behind them.
After her freshman year at the University of Michigan, Lhea published her first poetry collection Brown Paths (July 2003, LeAdfood Press). During her senior year, Lhea published both Laughing Behind Closed Doors and Kings, Niggers, and Negroes: Collected Poems (December 2005, LeAdfoot Press).
Lhea J. Love does not claim to have any timeless truths, nor solutions to world poverty, anguish or disease. Lhea is just simply trying to do what she was put on this Earth to do.
Lhea currently works and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Please Visit:
My Website: http://www.lheajlove.net
My Book Reviews: http://blackbookshelf.blogspot.com
My Writing Blog: http://newgraphophobia.blogspot.com
All Books By This Author:
- Kings, Niggers and Negroes
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Sometimes
Only bleeding ink
Can heal the wounds
Of time that never stops.Dear Reader,
Kings, Niggers and Negroes is a collection of poetry written by Lhea J. Love. The poems included were published as two separate chapbooks Brown Paths (2003) and Laughing Behind Closed Doors (2005) both published by Leadfoot Press.
Please enjoy the spoken word and short poems within Kings, Niggers and Negroes. This collection includes eight years worth of joy, anguish, grief and love revisited in the hope and pursuit of creating art.
Much of Lhea's poetry is a response to art, idea and lives of others. The title refers to both the inward perception and outward reception of Blacks in America. The title of this book comes directly from the first poem in the book. "Name is Lhea JaNita but you can call me The Griot/ Keeper of History-/ Storyteller of Kings, Niggers and Negroes/ Keeper of Knowledge--/ History of Queens, Victors and Heroes." An allusion to, "We're either Niggas or Kings, we're either Bitches or Queens," Lhea hopes not to offend with the use of the harsh term but to pay homage to two influential works of African American Art "Thieves in the Night" by Mos Def & Talib Kweli as Black Star and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the novel to which their song alludes.
The usage of the term "Niggers" as opposed to "Niggas", "Niggaz" or "Nigguhs" was chosen intentionally as a polar opposite of the term "Kings". While "Nigga", and its derivations, may be used within a community as a reclaimed term of endearment, "Nigger" will stand as the ultimate insult and a depiction of dehumanization solely reserved for those of a darker hue. Unfortunately, it sometimes encompasses how we are treated by the world, how we view each other and how we think of ourselves.
Thank you for sharing this moment.
- Genres: Poetry
