Product Description

Afrocentric poetry that educates and motivates.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3460777 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 51 pages

From the Author
History had always been my least favorite subject in school, mainly because as a black student in a public school system made up of white teachers, all I was ever taught about black people was that we were the descendant of slaves. Furthermore, I was lead to believe that the only contribution black people ever made to the world was the invention of peanut butter.

As an adult, I decided to research black history on my own. I've discovered that there is more to our history than slavery, and we've contributed so much more to the world than just peanut butter. With this book, I use poetic expression to share some of what I've discovered.

About the Author
Linda Mayfield-Hayes grew up in the Red Hook housing projects, of Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Kingsborough Community College with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Data Processing.

Linda began writing poetry in her early teens, but soon abandoned her craft. She didn't lift her poetic pen again until 2003, almost forty years later. Since then, she has published two poetry chapbooks, "Life is a Roller Coaster" and "Life is a Roller Coaster 2". Linda has done poetry readings at Barnes & Noble, The Queens Central Library, Stain, and at Valarie's Sophisticated Soul Food. She has also performed at Sista's Place with the legendary Louis Reyes Rivera and the Jazzoets. Online, she goes by the pen name of Slendah. Her poetry has appeared on websites such as Mr. Africa, Soulful Chemistry, E-LiteraryCafe, NubianPoets, Black-Poetry, The Black Poetry Cafe, PostPoems, and TimBookTu. She has been the featured poet at Poeticnites and MotivateAMind. Her poems have also appeared in several anthropologies.

Linda currently resides in Brooklyn, New York with her son

Customer Reviews

"...Brilliantly utilizes poetic expressions to enlighten readers."
"Afroetry is educational and motivational. This interesting book of poetry sparks deep reflection and inspiration."

"It is a wonderful compilation of afrocentric poetry that touches on interesting subject matter that will encourage and uplift, while providing thoughts for readers to ponder."

"Linda Mayfield-Hayes brilliantly utilizes poetic expressions to enlighten readers. Presenting a gentle reminder to all the significant contributions of African Americans."

Wonderfully Satisfying
Afroetry is a wonderfully satisfying collection of poetry by Linda Mayfield-Hayes. In compiling this impressive opus, Hayes has attempted to shed light on the various aspects of Black history & culture that are often ignored by the media and in classrooms, and, after reading even a portion of what she has to share, you'll thank her for her commendable efforts.

As of late, discussions regarding race relations have too often been reduced to the back-and-forth slinging of hackneyed clichés and over-simplified characterizations; in Afroetry, Hayes takes a refreshing dive into real (often uncomfortable) honesty, invoking the reconciliation that can only come through indulgence in real truth. Consider her take on the N-word in her poem, "Nigger":

They call me nigger
I was made in God's image
They blasphemy God.


And this passage from "Modern Day Slave":

Private companies also profit
Off the sweat of prisoners backs
The majority of these inmates
Just happen to be male blacks;


Rather than recycle rhetoric or quote statistics, Hayes aims straight for the heart of racial conflict in America, and does so quite effectively.

Of course, no treatise on Black culture would be complete without a proper sense of history, and Hayes provides numerous historical gems regarding African-American lore, including tales of the Tulsa race riot of 1921, the achievements of Farrah Gray, and even a secret female member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers. She also waxes philosophic on six year-old Ruby Bridges's experiences in integrating Franz Elementary School in "From The Mouth Of A Babe":

President Eisenhower ordered Federal Marshals
To escort her to and from school each day
As she bravely faced the threatening white mob
This is what she would silently pray:

"Please God, try to forgive these people
Because even if they say those bad things
They don't know what they're doing;


To build on its historical commentary, Hayes's collection is also rife with educational nuggets framing the current state of race relations in America. Nowhere else is this more telling than in her stinging rebuke of corporate America in "Unfairness Of Working In America":

"You're an excellent worker" they tell me
"You're really top of the class
But I'm afraid regarding that promotion
We'll simply just have to pass";


She goes on to suggest that entrepreneurship is the best path to take if true economic equality is ever to be attained - and one can hardly fault her in that assessment.

Afroetry comes in at just over 50 pages, but in its brevity is a profundity that many books twice its size often lack. Hayes has compiled a masterpiece of poetic cultural treasures that beckon to be discovered - don't miss your chance to be enriched.

Good, Conscious Poetry!!
Cathay Williams, Black Wall Street, the attainment of knowledge of self, the elimination of a slave mentality, the Middle Passage, the N-word, a holistic diet - Linda Mayfield-Hayes covers it all in her rhythmic Afroetry. Purposeful, educational and very easy-to-read, Afroetry would make an excellent collection for anyone's library.