Yabo

by Alexis De Veaux

WINNER OF THE 2015 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD:

BEST LESBIAN FICTION!

See Yabo ... like a Mingus composition: Pentecostal, blues-inflected, full of wit and that deep literacy of the black diaspora. The present, the past, the uncertain future collapse upon themselves in this narrative of place/s. ...Yabo calls our ghosts back and holds us accountable for memory.

— Cheryl Clarke, author, Living as a Lesbian and The Days of Good Looks

Alexis De Veaux laces together the past and the present with poetic elegance in an intricate and delicate pattern of call and response. ...Echoing the work of Jean Toomer and Toni Morrison, Yabo speaks in a powerful and insistent cadence about things we may have forgotten: death, desire, magic and the drum beat of resilience.

— Jewelle Gomez, author, The Gilda Stories

“Living between possibilities” is a key theme of and narrative hinge in Alexis De Veaux's ever-surprising innovative hybrid novella Yabo. As much a work of spiritual excavation and conjuration as fiction, this text opens doors to worlds we might otherwise pass by, showing in the process what it truly means to create. A poetic, enthralling, unforgettable text.

— John Keene, author, Annotations

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Alexis De Veaux’s work is defined by two critical concerns: making the racial and sexual experiences of black female characters central, and disrupting boundaries between forms. She is the author of two award-winning biographies: Don’t Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday and Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde. A celebrated writer of poetry, children’s literature, plays, essays and journalism, De Veaux is also an activist recognized for her lifelong contributions to a number of women’s and literary organizations. With her new work, Yabo, Alexis has returned to her first love: writing fiction.

[Photo © 2014 by Lisa C. Moore]

 

168 pp.

© 2014 by Alexis De Veaux

Cover art: "Get Me Another Heart This One's Been Broken Many Times" © 1995 by Valerie Maynard

Cover design: E. Corbin

ISBN-13: 978-0-9899405-0-4

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