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Title: The Weight of Whiteness

Subtitle: A Memoir in Poetry

Author: Caroline Giles Banks

Narrator: Caroline Giles Banks

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-02-16

Publisher: Caroline Giles Banks

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The Weight of Whiteness is a memoir in poetry form of the author's awareness of her whiteness during the integration of Boston's public schools in the 1950s and during visits with her family in the segregated South. Deeply personal, the poems examine the author's thoughts and feelings as family and others react to her interracial marriage in 1966, the year before the US Supreme Court overturned as unconstitutional 16 states' laws prohibiting miscegenation.

Written with the sensibility of an anthropologist, the poems reveal the nuances of living in an interracial family in the 1960s and 1970s. They describe activities such as going to the beauty shop, driving, naming and nursing a baby, going to the park and church, and seeking health care. Written in a direct, spare style, The Weight of Whiteness illuminates the loneliness of the author's struggle for identity and dignity in a world lived between - and beyond - black and white.

Interspersed throughout the book are poems written in response to select paintings and sculptures by visual artists in other periods and cultures. These ekphrastic poems place the personal experiences of the author within broader historical contexts of loss, struggle, and hope.

Caroline Giles Banks was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Banks, a cultural anthropologist by training and profession, was on the faculties of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. Her poetry, written in several genres, is often informed by her anthropological training and research. She is the author of Warm Under the Cat: Haiku and Senryu Poems, The Clock Chimes: Haiku and Senryu Poems, The Clay Jar: Haiku, Senryu and Haibun Poems, and Picture a Poem: Ekphrastic and Other Poems. Her award-winning poetry has been published in many anthologies, literary magazines, and journals. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Members Reviews:

Even if you are not into poetry, read this

This is an account of a "mixed marriage" at the time when they were still against the law in many states. Ms. Banks tells, through her verses the many difficult times they encountered as a white woman and black man.

soul searing

These poems lay bare a harrowing journey filled with questions and heart ache. I can only say that I can only read one each day for one poem fills my day with reverberations and musings on the past and present, on the individual and society, on the price of individuality and the pain of loving whom you choose to love.

Timely commentary told through personal stories

Insightful, sad, telling, rich stories told in poetry of a relationship between people of different races. Dare I say that there is humor in this volume too? For those who are poetry fans and those just interested in relationships in the US in the 20th century and beyond. I would highly recommend this book for open minded people.