{"product_id":"a-drop-of-patience-paperback","title":"A Drop of Patience - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eWilliam Melvin Kelley\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the great jazz novels of any era, \u003ci\u003eA Drop of Patience\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a blind horn player's journey through the themes of race, blindness, and music.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the age of five, Ludlow Washington is given up by his parents to a brutal white-run state institution for blind African American children, where everyone is taught music--the only trade by which they are expected to make a living. Ludlow is a prodigy on the horn and at fifteen is \"purchased\" out of the Home by a bandleader in the fictive Southern town of New Marsails. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy eighteen, he is married with a baby daughter, but as his reputation spreads, he seeks to grow musically, leaving his budding family for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New York City. Navigating the worlds of music and race and women, Ludlow's career follows an arc towards collapse, a nervous breakdown, recovery, a long-delayed public recognition, only for him to finally abandon the spotlight and return to his roots and find solace in the black church. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Drop of Patience\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant portrayal of a jazz musician. It stands apart as an exemplary parable of African American history, of racial politics, and of musical creative genius.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWILLIAM MELVIN KELLEY was born in New York City in 1937 and attended the Fieldston School and Harvard. The author of four novels and a short story collection, he was a writer in residence at the State University of New York at Geneseo and taught at The New School and Sarah Lawrence College. He was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for lifetime achievement and the Dana Reed Prize for creative writing. He died in 2017. In 2014 Kelley was officially credited by the \u003ci\u003eOxford English Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e with coining the political term woke, in a 1962 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e article entitled If You're Woke You Dig It.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 30, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47474957451485,"sku":"9781984899316","price":17.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/a0JMdDBldTUyWVNDWkRmTmgraHBlUT09.webp?v=1771735836","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/a-drop-of-patience-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}