Manhattan my ass, you're in Oakland
WINNER, American Book Award 2021, from the Before Columbus Foundation
Poems of gentrification, racism, feminism, and social justice
“Unsettling, important, and unforgettable poetry…. Juanita, an elder stateswoman of human rights in America, was editor-in-chief of the Black Panthers’ newspaper in the late 1960s. Her experiences in Oakland, California, are chronicled in her much lauded, semiautobiographical novel, Virgin Soul (2013).
A renowned novelist, poet, and playwright, she showcases her deft use of numerous styles of poetry and modified prose in her new book.
Many of the pieces are set against the backdrop of rough-and-tumble Oakland while invoking the legacies and lessons of black poets like Dudley Randall and Langston Hughes. Permeated with themes of sexual and racial inequality, this collection of 50-plus pieces fittingly begins with a credo against toxic masculinity, conjuring the Greek figure of Lysistrata…”
– Kirkus Reviews
for adult readers
“
...This temperate city, 62 degrees year round,
Will not become another San Francisco
Who, in her glory, banished the people who built her
Oregon used exclusion laws
In the 1840s and 1850s
To keep free negroes out and dared
The ones there to leave at once or else
San Francisco used the laws of avarice
And greed to build its white houses while
Middle class blacks and the working poor
Who never knew they were equally unequal
Left through the same back door...”—from the title poem
Further praise for Manhattan my ass, you’re in Oakland
“What a distinctive, powerful, undaunted, sane, straight-shooting, de facto feminist voice! I love hearing the voice on these pages.” —Gail Wronsky, Poems for Infidels, Dying for Beauty
“Feisty, often humorous, and philosophical. It’s also passionate and filled with local spirit… But this book is not just for Oaklanders. The poems contain wisdom and entertainment for people in Manhattan, Oakland, and everywhere in between.” —Lucille Lang Day, 5-star Amazon review
“Modern and historical hallmarks of social justice are present throughout, from Donald Trump’s rise and Harvey Weinstein’s crimes to the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, Sarah Palin’s “babymommadrama,” and the Gulf War… Unsettling, important, and unforgettable poetry.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Oakland can’t get no respect. The towns surrounding it don’t want to be associated with it. Judy Juanita even points to sections of Oakland that don’t wish to be associated with it. Blacks are profiled in the Rockridge section of Oakland, which Juanita calls ‘pretend Berkeley.’ Berkeley is the Whitest city in Alameda County regardless of its radical reputation. A city where one might be profiled even at cultural institutions. Both Juanita and I were profiled at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. In her book Manhattan my ass, you’re in Oakland, Juanita gives the history of Oakland before the expulsion of Blacks from the city by the banks, the police and Jerry Brown. With the invasion of the city by Millennials, will Oakland become Berkeley? Not If Judy Juanita has anything to do about it. Juanita stands up for a city that is more than a place where surrounding cities dump their trash.” —Ishmael Reed
EquiDistance Press, 2020
Paperback, 104 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0971635272
