Devorah Major

celebrating the release of her new book of poetry

and then we became

published by City Lights Books

Who are we humans, with our differences and our personal histories, mythologies and urgencies, as well as our collective struggles and dreams? Why are we here? Questions of culture, ethnicity and gender —and the denial of those borders —infuse these poems, rich with social and political commentary, and filled with compassion, love, anger and hope. Even while writing of one child, one homeless person, one soldier, one war survivor, devorah major connects these individual stories to a contemplation of humanity's place in the cosmos.

Praise for and then we became:

"In and then we became, devorah major steps out of the way and allows creation to craft creation. The structures and paints of her descriptions have incredible range of effect: the ascension into the first history a free people teach, the short story perceived through possession, the melodic start-stop motion of a debilitated life, the flash of your torturer's dream; all part of a collaged panoramic of spirit and flesh. She is at home in all dimensions of her subject. The voices of this work walk straight toward you holding out moments of violence, lament, beauty, and invincibility for you to embrace, offering a face to become your own."––Tongo Eisen-Martin, author of Someone's Dead Already

"I hate to turn on the radio each morning where I hear that men haven't changed, staying in office for generations and generally acting the fool. devorah major uses the many voices of women to explore a world that we know less about than the oceans of Enceladus. The great thing about devorah's book is that we can't interrupt as she rolls out the indictment poem by poem."––Ishmael Reed

Praise for devorah major:

"Musical and energetic, major's work calls for a live voice to release its emotional power … major's stance as community witness pulling hope from painful realities is compelling."—Publishers Weekly

"The local, the global, the personal, the political, the intimate and the infinite all intersect and reflect one another in the mirrored imagery of devorah major's poetry … major with her caring voice and quiet style make these caring poems stick."—Al Young, Former Poet Laureate of California

"A visionary of hope, with a heart big enough to embrace every neighborhood, street and alley in this magical and poetical city. Here is a poet who shoots straight as Cupid’s arrow. Zing! Right to the heart."—Alejandro Murguía, San Francisco Poet Laureate

A California born, San Francisco raised, granddaughter of immigrants, documented and undocumented, devorah major served as San Francisco's Third Poet Laureate (2002-2006). She has published two novels, four poetry books and four poetry chapbooks, along with two young adult titles, and a host of short stories, essays, and individual poems published in anthologies and periodicals. Among her awards is a First Novelist award from the Black Caucus of the ALA and a PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award. Along with composer Guillermo Galindo, major was given a commission by the Oakland East Bay Symphony to create Trade Routes, a symphony with spoken word and chorus that premiered in 2005. In June 2015 she premiered her poetry play Classic Black: Voices of 19th-Century African-Americans in San Francisco at the San Francisco International Arts Festival. She is currently the poet-in-residence at the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and a Senior Adjunct Professor at California College of the Arts. More info and writing can be found at http://www.devorahmajor.com