The Tradition

By: Jericho Brown

Narrated by: JD Jackson

Jericho Brown's daring new book The Tradition details the normalization of evil and its history at the intersection of the past and the personal. Brown's poetic concerns are both broad and intimate, and at their very core a distillation of the incredibly human: What is safety? Who is this nation? Where does freedom truly lie?

Brown makes mythical pastorals to question the terrors to which we've become accustomed, and to celebrate how we survive. Poems of fatherhood, legacy, blackness, queerness, worship, and trauma are propelled into stunning clarity by Brown's mastery, and his invention of the duplex - a combination of the sonnet, the ghazal, and the blues - is testament to his formal skill. The Tradition is a cutting and necessary collection, relentless in its quest for survival while reveling in a celebration of contradiction.

©2019 Jericho Brown (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Exquisite

A bracing and beautiful example of modern poetry. Brown’s work is incredible, but you don’t need me to tell you that.

Great Poetry

Just finished listening to this book and it was inspiring. The narrator was excellent.

For Once

Literature is meant to make you see into a world where you think you belong. You trust that at some point you will exist as a voice within the echoes of the page, and what happens here with Tradition is just that (and, potentially, the reason Brown was awarded the Pulitzer). Dark holds the most intimate grasp of identity as a reader digesting the sound of “familiar” language. Thoroughly Enjoyed!!!!!

Great poetry collection

It took awhile to finish this collection due to being busy with college and life. But, every word in this poem is beautifully and strategically penned. I feel alive with these poems. I am planning on reading it a second time without the audio. As for the audio performance, I think it was okay for the most part. It didn't seem too exciting. If anyone has heard Terrance perform his own poetry readings, you'd know there's more enthusiasm and passion into it. The performance seems slow at times.

Poetry made for reading aloud

While the clarity of language and tone make this poetry accessible when heard, the audible version is best appreciated when accompanied by a hard copy of the book. The only downside is the shortness of a pause between poems.