Ntozake Shange — Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo

New York, St. Martin's Press, 1982. First edition. Hardback. The first edition, first printing of this immensely rich novel by the prolific American author Ntozake Shange, with the original unclipped dust wrapper. The first edition, first printing of the work. With the original unclipped dust wrapper featuring the art of Romare Bearden, a celebrated American artist whose early works depict scenes from the American South. In the publisher's quarter cloth binding with unique leaf designs blind stamped into the front paper cover.Ntozake Shange was an American author who enjoyed a diverse and prolific career: as a poet, dramatist, novelist, essayist, and screenplay writer. Her play for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf was a formally experimental work and received, among several other accolades, an Obie award in 1977. Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is a captivating and intimate novel that details the lives of three black sisters, their mother, and their surrounding community. It is a lyrical and genre-defying book which weaves questions surrounding the legacy of the girls' Gullah ancestry into its account of their individual growth and development. In the original publisher's quarter cloth binding with the original unclipped dust wrapper. Externally, very attractive with slight bumping to the head and tail of the spine. A touch of bumping to the extremities. Light age toning and the odd handling mark to the wrapper's front and rear. Internally, firmly bound with lovely bright and clean pages. Fine . Ill.: Jacket art by Romare Bearden. Fine/Fine.