poetry
ISBN 0-9622474-7-2
72pp; 1997
12.00
    Coleman Hawkins, BackStage, Ellenville, N.Y., 1956
...the almost
casual
way
Hawk turned from America,

as he'd turn while soloing
to signal his pianist; or
while humming along with some
string quartet on the turntable, or
turn to turn
up or down the flame
under a pot of beans. Ex-

patriate
as easy as
running a scale;

shucked America

like charred husks from ears
of roasted Kansas corn...

...they far exceed the off-hand quality that a series of impressions might suggest, because Harris is rarely content to skim the surface of his sources...he "reads" these visual and musical icons with a clear eye and an abiding respect for the rich confluence of African American cultural streams... - Ted Pearson, Trait Magazine 
 

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