Where the Birds Sing Bass [Inscribed]

Oakland, CA: Jukebox Press, 1995. First Edition. 109 pages; 22 cm. Poems. Exterior mildly worn; else clean within; binding tigh. Very good. Inscribee name removed from photo only for privacy. Paperback. ISBN: 0932693059; 9780932693051

Warmly inscribed by the author on title page. Lockett's second book. Powerful poetry from Oakland, California. Paperback original. ¶ Oakland poet and teacher (c. 1947–2008), born in Berkeley and raised in West Oakland. A McClymonds High graduate, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at San Francisco State, where he helped found the Black Students Alliance. Taught creative writing at San Francisco State, City College of San Francisco, Laney and College of Marin, then spent twenty years as a tenured Language Arts instructor at San Jose City College. His poems are urban, nostalgic and blues-inflected, steeped in Oakland’s R&B and blues-club history. Ishmael Reed praised his voice as “hip, urban, observant, and nostalgic.” Where the Birds Sing Bass won a PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award in 1996. Other collections: Good Times & No Bread, The Party Crashers of Paradise and Random History Lessons. Ran Jukebox Press, which published other poets and raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims with the anthology Words upon the Water. Vice president of PEN Oakland, which later named its Lifetime Achievement Award for him. Died suddenly of a heart attack at home in May 2008, while under consideration as Oakland’s first poet laureate. ¶  African Americans -- Poetry. Poésie américaine -- Auteurs noirs américains -- 20e siècle. Noirs américains -- Poésie. African Americans.