TY  - BOOK
AU  - Kay,Jackie
TI  - Bessie Smith: a poet's biography of a blues legend 
SN  - 9780593314272
PY  - 2021///
CY  - New York
PB  - Vintage Books
KW  - Smith, Bessie,
KW  - Singers
KW  - United States
KW  - Biography
KW  - Blues musicians
KW  - Biographies
KW  - lcgft
N1  - "Originally published... in Great Britain by Absolute Press, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Bath, in 1997, and subsequently published in Great Britain by Faber & Faber Limited, London, in 2021."--Title page verso; Includes bibliographical references; 'The red graveyard' -- Introduction -- In the house of the blues -- Chattanooga, 1894 -- In the Ma's footsteps -- The trunk and the no-good man -- Wax -- Ruby on the road -- Tales of the Empress -- The blues -- Mississippi, 1937
N2  - "Known for her prodigious musical talent, her timeless blues narratives about personal and socioeconomic problems, her tough persona, and her innate ability to enrapture audiences with her raw voice, Bessie Smith--the Empress of the Blues--receives a unique biographical treatment in this special life narrative captured by one of Scotland's finest poets. By masterfully blending research, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and her own experiences in listening to Bessie Smith, Jackie Kay brings Smith to life, chronicling her humble beginnings in Tennessee to her national touring and recording success to her troubled relationships and her tragic end. The result is a lyrical tribute that not only captures Smith's personality but manages to reproduce her voice as her lyrics echo throughout the text. Bessie Smith lives on, and as Kay argues, she is relevant now more than ever"--
ER  -