Becoming Billie Holiday
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Astra Publishing House
Published:11th Jan '22
£9.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
The stunning voice and hard life of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday is revealed through evocative, accessible poetry. In 1915, Sadie Fagan gave birth to a daughter she named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holiday, possibly the greatest jazz singer of all time. Eleanora's journey to become a legend took her through pain, poverty, and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could possibly change her life--a voice. Eleanora could sing. Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, New York Times best-selling and award-winning poet Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles the singer's young life, her fight for survival, and the dream she pursued with passion.
★ "The poetry is rich and evocative. . . . A remarkable tribute well worthy of its subject." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Readers will find a generous assortment of recommended reading and listening at the end of this proud, clear-voiced testimonial." —Booklist
★ "[Weatherford] captures the woman's jazzy, candid voice so adroitly that at times the poems seem like they could have been lifted wholesale from Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. . . . This captivating title places readers solidly into Holiday's world, and is suitable for independent reading as well as a variety of classroom uses." —School Library Journal, starred review
ISBN: 9781635925579
Dimensions: 239mm x 170mm x 8mm
Weight: 360g
120 pages