Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

The poet's journey begins in the heart. Here is a memoir from a poet that reminds us to pursue writing as much as love. Moving beyond the loss of both his father and brother, E. Ethelbert Miller tells the story of how love survived in his family. When Miller was about ten years old, his father told him how he could have left his mother. Years later, now a writer and a father, Miller looks back on that simple remark and how it shaped him. In Fathering Words, Miller explores his development as an African American writer, the responsibility of his chosen career, and his ambitions to raise the consciousness of black people. Gradually, Miller comes to see that when his father told him he could have left his mother that he was attempting to raise his consciousness. In his own way, his father was warning Miller not to take things for granted, that one's own world could easily and quickly change. And in his quiet way that he loved him. Miller's poetry often relies on the voices of women. Here in Fathering Words, Miller has chosen to write his memoir in two voices. He places his sister's voice on the page next to his own. The result is a wonderful duet that tells two stories woven together into one. Fathering Words is Miller's moving tribute and a powerful memoir.

Biographies & Memoirs

Miller, E. Ethelbert

Arts & Literature

Thomas Dunne Books

With ample insight, candor, and lyricism, poet, scholar, editor, and anthologist E. Ethelbert Miller reflects in these pages on his childhood in the South Bronx, his college days at Howard University, and his ongoing development as a husband, father, poet, and African American author. Fathering Words explores how Miller's family and friends shaped his life—in particular, his father Egberto, who came to the U.S. from Panama, and his older brother Richard, who became a monk and died young. With straightforward honesty punctuated by humor and warmth, the quietly pensive Miller offers a memoir of individual as well as universal truth—an original yet familiar story of fathers and sons, families and responsibilities, artistry and awareness.

St. Martin's: Griffin

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.

Where Are the Love Poems for Dictators ?

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

Open Hand Pub Llc

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.

Where are the Love Poems for Dictators?

Poetry collection by E. Ethelbert Miller, writer and literary activist. The editor of Poet Lore, Miller served as Director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University. Awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature from Emory and Henry College, Miller has taught at UNLV, American University, George Mason University, and Emory and Henry College. A two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist Program Fellow and the founder of the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C., Miller has authored several collections of poetry and two memoirs. He is the host and producer of The Scholars, which airs on UDC-TV. A 2015 Washington, D.C. Hall of FameInductee, Miller is also a regular on National Public Radio. "Ethelbert's poetry enters us and sings. Like the biblical prophets, he inspires and challenges us, and gives voice to our deepest longing: to live with greater intensity and passion, and bring significance to our existence. He is one of the great voices of our day." --Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College

The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller

Aquarius Press

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"

In Search of Color Everywhere

Harry N. Abrams

Moving beyond the loss of both his father and brother, E.Ethelbert Miller tells the story of how love survived in his family. When Miller was about ten years old, his father told him how he considered leaving his mother. Years later, now a writer and a father, Miller looks back on the simple remark and how it shaped him. In Fathering Words, Miller explores his development as an African American writer, the responsibility of his chosen career, and his ambitions to raise the consciousness of Black people. Miller's poetry often relies on the voices of women. Here in Fathering Words, he has chosen to write his memoir in two voices. He places his sister's voice on the page next to his own. The result is a wonderful duet that tells two stories woven into one. Fathering Words is Miller's moving tribute and a powerful memoir.

Black Classic Press

This is a second memoir following Coming after Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer. In this story, Miller is returning to baseball, the game of his youth, in order to find the metaphor that will provide the measurement of his life. Almost 60, he ponders whether his life can now be entered into the official record books as a success or failure; one man's examination of personal relationships, depression, love and loss. This is a story of the individual alone on the pitching mound or in the batters box. It's a box score filled with remembrance, and a combination of baseball and the blues.

The 5th Inning (Busboys and Poets)

Parenting & Relationships

PM Press

The author’s second memoir following Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer, this book finds poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller returning to baseball, the game of his youth, in order to find the metaphor that will provide the measurement of his life. Almost 60, he ponders whether his life can now be entered into the official record books as a success or failure. Written in short, journal-like entries, The 5th Inning is one man’s examination of personal relationships, depression, love, and loss. It’s a box score filled with remembrance—a story of the individual alone on the pitching mound or in the batter's box. It’s a combination of baseball and the blues.

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. His poems on friendship and love are tender, often whimsical. His political poems are evenhanded and compassionate.

How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love

Curbstone Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Miller, E. Ethelbert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Miller, E. Ethelbert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Miller, E. Ethelbert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

Where Are the Love Poems for Dictators ?

Where are the Love Poems for Dictators?

The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller

In Search of Color Everywhere

Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer

The 5th Inning (Busboys and Poets)

The 5th Inning (Busboys and Poets)

How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love