Christine is a real... Whitegirl. A SERIOUS DUTCH WHITEGIRL! But she's our Whitegirl! Umar Bin Hassan, one of The Last Poets
Even readers unfamiliar with The Last Poets historic significance as building blocks of the hip-hop and rap movement, will instantly find this novel a compelling read.
The Last Poets were self-proclaimed prophets of hope and change. The band was formed in 1968 against an incendiary backdrop of the black power movement and murders of Martin Luther King, Kennedy and Malcolm X. Today their socio-political lyrics have a renewed sense of urgency, rallying loud and clear against the fear-based politics of the Trump-era. Christine Otten spent three months travelling across the United States interviewing members of The Last Poets, their families, friends, and musicians. She describes their impoverished childhoods, their love lives, successes and failures in this beautifully written, sensuously swinging, biopic-style novel.
The debut spoken word album by The Last Poets is one of my all-time favorite albums.David Bowie

De laatste dichters

Otten, Christine, author; Reeder, Jonathan, translator

United States, United States of America

New York ; [Breda, 2018

US Edition, US, 2018

Oct 02, 2018

541 pages ; 22 cm
"Harlem, 1969. The air is charged with hope and revolution; the Black Panthers are in their prime. This is the backdrop against which The Last Poets wrote their passionate, self-critical poetry. Widely known as the progenitors of hip hop, this legendary collective fought, strayed, and ultimately found each other again through the legacy of their own work. Christine Otten describes their youth in the ghetto, their love lives, and their triumphs and struggles in this beautifully written, sensuously swinging, biopic-style novel."--Back cover
First published in Dutch as De laatstte dichters in 2004 by Atlas Contact, Amsterdam
Published in the UK in 2015 by World Editions Ltd, London
Includes bibliographical references

2023-10-09