Citizen

By: Claudia Rankine

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

Length: 1 hr and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

Claudia Rankine's bold new audiobook recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in 21st-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV - everywhere, all the time. The cumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship.

©2014 Claudia Rankine (P)2015 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Combining poetry, essay, and images from media and contemporary art, Rankine's poetics capture the urgency of her subject matter." ( Publishers Weekly)

Powerfully moving all round.

Reading poetry is often a private experience, the voice we hear is our own; but Johnson nails it. Her performance conveys Rankine's subtle use of language and powerful cultural critique. I loved the section on Serena Williams which made me want to scream, laugh and cry all at once.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Important Work But Audio Is Missing a Lot

Citizen is an important work, sadly more relevant with every passing day. The audio book is well produced and the reader is exceptionally skilled.

However, Rankine's book includes photos and art work that are not mere illustrations but integral parts of the whole. The same is true of the layout of the book with lots of blank pages and empty space. (To give the reader time to rest and absorb, Rankine has stated.)

For these reasons, the audio book should be considered a companion to the print edition, not a substitute for it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

So. Important.

Listening to this made me angry and uncomfortable, perhaps because, as a white person, it's easy for me to elect to see or acknowledge racism, and this book puts you (literally by use of the second person) at the center of it, as the victim, the witness, the occasional perpetrator. You can't ignore it. To make the reader feel even a fraction of what people of color feel on a daily basis is such a huge accomplishment. Beautiful work.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Wonderful Book

Frankly, I don't see this as poetry but it's still a wonderful book. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Just getting along shouldn't be an ambition

This epic poem often had me leaning forward to find out what would happen next, even when — especially when — Rankine is narrating a tennis match she’s watching on TV. The general “poetic” parts about feelings/sensings were not particularly compelling but they acted as a respite from the racial parts, which fill you with rage. “because white men can’t/ police their imagination/ black men are dying.” And “Hold up, did you just hear, did you just say, did you just see, did you just do that? Then the voice in your head silently tells you to take your foot off your throat because just getting along shouldn’t be an ambition.” Grade: A

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Tragedy

Gorgeous and succinct prose tell the story we already knew but never hear. It is heartbreakingly strong. the only difficulty a reader or listener will encounter is their discomfort with themselves or the world around them. We should be uncomfortable more often.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Essays

These essays reminded me of James Baldwin. I was excited to keep reading. Some of the essays hit close to home which wasn't a bad thing but they were eye openers.

Timely and Enduring

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes

What does Allyson Johnson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The raw emotion of how it feels to be discriminated against.

Any additional comments?

I listened and read this book on a Kindle app. I heard about this book from several podcast sources and was compelled to read it since it falls into the poetry genre. This approach provides a unique and vivid way of describing the hopes, aspirations, trials, and terrors of how some American Citizens feel in this land of the free. Non-condemning, but at the same time providing a voice to a feeling that one half of the population continues to ignore, though the lyrics come recognization of human emotion. I recommend the Kindle and audible, the pictures in the Kindle are as moving as the poetry read out loud.

Short but powerful read

Youll want to read it more than once. Powerful descriptions of reality that are equally as poignant for those who have experienced the reality and for those who have participated in creating the reality

(r)evolutionary poetry

Does what poetry was created to do, move us forward, steady our gaze, remind us to re-member.

absolutely amazing.

Rankine has a way with words. a way to make sense of the world we live in as people of colour. an eloquent portrayal of life.

Clear perspective of how black people are treated!

Took me to get in touch with my feelings buried deep inside.
Where I never seen double standards it is now clear that there are. this is a rollercoster of emotions.
The poem related to Serena Williams 2as the one I loved the most, and how she managed to pull it off by being the best she can be, taking no crap from no one.