Mistress, Reclining

“Mistress, Reclining.” 2010: n. pag. Print.

“Cherene Sherrard describes the ache of exclusion and illuminates what beauty dwells along the margins.  Her treatment of Jeanne Duval, the mixed-race mistress and muse of Charles Baudelaire, is at once haunting and harrowing.  Through Duval’s eyes we glimpse the tawdry righteousness of Parisian society, while the rest of Sherrard’s clear-eyed collection reacquaints us with other too-often-ignored characters from our common history.  In Mistress, Reclining Sherrard digs up the dirt of the past, sifts it, and comes up with nuggets of pure gold.” –Camille T. Dungy, author of Suck on the Marrow and editor of Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry

“Cherene Sherrard’s fascinating book, MISTRESS, RECLINING, draws the reader into the confusions and triumphs of various historical women who must struggle against problems with race and gender. Especially engaging is the series of persona poems chronicling the complex life of Jeanne Duval, mistress and notorious inspiration for Charles Baudelaire. The author’s poetic originality and fascinating topic will delight the reader of this collection.” –Carol Hamilton, former Poet Laureate of Oklahoma and author of The Dawn Seekers

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