June Jordan Summary

The Jamaican American poet June Jordan (born 1936) explored multicultural and multiracial reality, feminism, and Third World activism in her many poems. She was also politically active in revolutionar... Read more

June Jordan's is an extraordinarily powerful voice. Power as a central theme in Jordan's work is accentuated by her speaking voice, which is forthright, resolute, searing, at times explosive and frigh... Read more

Critical Essay by Janet Harris There's so much right about "Dry Victories"—the two characters, who are alive, funny, bitter, cool; the magnificent selection of photographs:... Read more

Critical Essay by Publishers Weekly In a portentous foreword [to "Passion: New Poems, 1977–1980"] Jordan acknowledges her debt to Whitman and proposes to update this "white... Read more

Critical Essay by Mildred Thompson Passion as defined by Webster is "Emotion as distinguished from reason … affection … suffering … sexual desire." June Jordan... Read more

Critical Essay by Toni Cade Bambara [Civil Wars is a] chilling but profoundly hopeful vision of living in the USA. Jordan's vibrant spirit manifests itself throughout this collection of article... Read more

Critical Essay by Patricia Jones Keeping the faith is a slogan from the civil rights movement, rarely used nowadays, when cynics clamor: Faith in what?… [Civil Wars resonates] with a powerful f... Read more

In the following review, Emanuel acquaints the reader with the theme and voice in Jordan's first collection of poetry. Opposite the title page of Who Look at Me is a painting simply entitled &#... Read more

In the following essay, Splawn examines the work of Ntozake Shange and June Jordan, in which she finds examples of "a New World aesthetic."      And wh... Read more

In the following review, Hacker surveys the themes and techniques in Jordan's Selected Poems and evaluates some of the poet's positions and propositions. June Jordan's new book [N... Read more

In the following excerpt, Rothschild favorably reviews Technical Difficulties: African-American Notes on the State of the Union. For those who are June Jordan fans, as I am, Technical Difficulties is ... Read more

In the following review, Randall presents an appreciation of Jordan's skill and thematic range in Haruko/Love Poems. June Jordan's work, at this point and for many years now, is perfect.... Read more

In the following excerpt, Smith considers the thematic and stylistic features of Jordan's prose. The twinning of politics and poetics as a literary strategy in African-American women's w... Read more

In the following essay, Erickson surveys changes in Jordan's concepts of love and self-determination. In an earlier article I undertook a comprehensive survey of June Jordan's work, incl... Read more

In the following essay, Splawn extols Jordan's and Ntozake Shange's call for a New World consciousness. And who will join in this standing up and the ones who stood without sweet company... Read more

In the following excerpt, Baker explains Jordan's motivation for ignoring Western standards of poetry to create an immediate, direct voice of political activism. Occasionally I feel about Diane... Read more