Movement in Black facts for kids

Movement In Black is a collection of poetry by Black lesbian feminist Pat Parker.

Publication history

The collection was originally published by Diana Press in 1978. When Diana Press closed in 1979, Movement In Black went out of print. In 1983, Crossing Press issued a facsimile edition of the collection, though the title was once again unavailable by 1987. Shortly after Parker's death in 1989, Firebrand Books published its first edition of the collection, which included a foreword by Audre Lorde and an introduction by Judy Grahn. Ten years later, Firebrand released An Expanded Edition of Movement In Black, which includes a new section of previously-unpublished work, an introduction by Cheryl Clarke, and "Celebrations, Remembrances, Tributes" by ten Black writers including Lorde, Angela Y. Davis, Pamela Sneed, and Barbara Smith.

Summary

The poems featured in the collection center around Parker's experiences as a Black woman, lesbian, feminist, mother, writer, poet, and activist. In its first three pressings, Movement In Black had four sections: Married, Liberation Fronts, Being Gay, and Love Poems; the expanded edition includes a fifth section, New Work. As the titles suggest, the poetry in the original four sections explored Parker's two tempestuous marriages and divorces ("Sometimes My Husband Acts Like a Man"; "Exodus (to my husbands, lovers)"), her radical activism ("Don't Let the Fascists Speak", "For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to Be My Friend", "Movement in Black"), her queer identity ("My Lover Is a Woman", "For the Straight Folks Who Don't Mind Gays But Wish They Weren't So BLATANT"), and love ("Sunshine", "On Jealousy").