sassafrass, cypress, & indgo (1982)

Ntozake Shange wrote this one. I'd read part of it in the Postmodern Anthology that I made a project the other summer. Turns out I like the selection much better than the entire book. Regardless, Tracy, you need to read it: one black girl comes of age, one is involved with a lesbian dance troupe which does a "clitoris"dance, another has a "cunt" poem written for her and is in an abusive relationship (then becomes involved with spirits), the dancer and the other are both sluts for a time being (more or less), there is also some child birthing, menstruating, dancing, etc. --all three girls are artists of some sort.


Ok, so a plot summary. Three girls, Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo, grew up in Charleston SC (S&C are older and out of the house already). Indigo is a bit in touch with the spiritual world ("too much of the South in her"), she talks to her dolls (who supposedly talk back), and we see her become a woman. This first part includes the section I'd read that I liked. The narrative then turns to her older sisters, both in California to begin with. Sassafrass is in an abusive relationship and can't find her artistic voice while Cypress is a dancer and a coke dealer--both have to find their roots in their art in order to survive and be happy. It turns out that Indigo has done just that although she disappears after the first third or so of the book. That annoyed me. The reader had just gone through this incredibly important part of this child's growing up to have to leave her and look into the lives of her less sympathetic sisters.


This is very much a book from a child of the sixties. Shange was born in 48 and must have been influenced by all of the black power and back to Africa movements. She embodies those things in each girl differently while contrasting the younger generation against the mother who wishes they would all settle down a bit. Motherhood and blackness and womanhood are struggles for these girls and each comes at and comes to terms with the issues differently. It does seem a bit heavy handed at times, switching to poetry in the middle of the narration, the lack of substantive male characters, and the variety of solutions to the aforementioned struggles are a little too evenly spaced to be reality (she covers all the bases in terms of solutions).


That said. I did enjoy the book. It was a quick, fairly fun read and I think it would be interesting to teach against something similar like Mama Day (which is still the better book) or even Like Water for Chocolate (s, c & i also includes recipes) or something super-masculine like Fight Club. Doesn't work for my mean girls syllabus, though (although Indigo runs with the "Geechee Capitans" (no I didn't mis-type) for a little while and does some physical damage to men betting on cock-fights).