Poetry. African American Studies. Gay and Lesbian Studies. Pamela Sneed offers readers a tremendous gift in the collection KONG AND OTHER WORKS. These poems are histories, written but mainly unwritten, showing how social movements constructed around race, gender, and sexuality impact the individual. It is about current events, family, ancestors and pioneers, healing, hope, and love. KONG shifts effortlessly between the comedic and the critical while never losing sight of the author's aim: to offer a work that is transformative, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Primarily inspired by Sneed's two trips to Ghana, West Africa, KONG uses both the film King Kong and the journey of an African man kidnapped from his homeland as metaphors. At its heart, KONG is a resilient protest work, and a luminescent and universal call for freedom.

Author Hometown: NEW YORK, NY USA



About the author: Pamela Sneed is a New York-based poet, performer, writer and actress. She is the author of Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery, published by Henry Holt (1998). Sneed has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Source, Time Out, VIBE, Karl Lagerfeld's Off the Record, and on the cover of New York Magazine. In 2001, 2002, and in 2005 she headlined the New Work Now Festival at Joe's Pub/Public Theater and performed before sold-out houses. Sneed is a recipient of the 2006 Baxten Award for Performance.