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Pullman examines themes of labor and love, using as its backdrop the history of the treatment of the Pullman car porters of the late 19th century. The poems and art pieces in this collection both reflect on and interact with cultural and historical sources, from the slave narratives of Harriet Jacobs to the creative output of the poet and artist's late father, a musician and songwriter for Aretha Franklin. With urgency, and without apology,
Pullman underscores the relationships between the events of our American past and of our present.
About the author
JoAnne McFarland is an artist, poet, and curator. Her poetry collections include
Pullman,
American Graphic,
Acid Rain,
Identifying the Body,
13 Ways of Looking at a Black Girl, and
Tracks of My Tears. McFarland's artworks are part of the permanent collections of The Library of Congress, The Columbus Museum of Art, The Department of State, and Ikon Corporation among others. Recent exhibitions include: Best & Brightest and The Indivisible Spectrum, both at The Painting Center in New York City. She is the Artistic Director of Artpoetica Project Space in Brooklyn which exhibits work that focuses on the intersection of language and visual representation.