The poems of this book display a profound concern for humanity and challenge the proposition that anything is ordinary. The first section ("days of protest/night of peace") expresses solidarity with poor and war-ravaged people in Central and South America and in South Africa. The second section ("dead flowers") is a collection of love poems, and the last section ("poems from blue mountain") focuses on African American folklore. The illustrations complement the poems in strength and sensitivity.

Much of First Light is autobiographical, a young boy growing into urban manhood; it's a book of family, of strangers, of learning to tell time by the people that populated E. Ethelbert Miller's life. He has populated his work with mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and lovers who fight daily to be able to do simple things like drink clean water and sleep without gunshots interrupting their dreams. He takes instruction from Pablo Neruda, Margaret Walker, political prisoners and finds inspiration in the aloneness of Winnie Mandela. Mostly, it is a book of love, personal and cultural. It's silences are penetrating, its insights are liberating, its violence is quieting and its love is contagious.

A collection of African-American poems, including works by Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and others, in such categories as 'Freedom,' 'Celebration of Blackness,' and 'Love Poems' (view table of contents)

Product Description: This is the first book I've written that decided not to dedicate to anyone. I guess this is my book. The poems are a collection of things I needed to say. Throughout the work, one will discover the themes of despair, depression and desire...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

A collection of 354 works of African American poetry, compiled from 175 contributors covering such topics as social struggles, love, and solitude.

Product Description: In this wide-ranging collection of lyrics, dealing with such themes as family, love, racism, and war, E. Ethelbert Miller sets his scenes against the backdrop of the stark realities of contemporary life, here and abroad. As both his love poems and political poems attest, Miller believes with full faith in the transformative powers of love and understanding...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

A memoir chronicling the growth of a boy into a man and a man into a poet shares stories of childhood, family, responsibility, purpose, and love.