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Electric Arches Paperback – September 12, 2017

by Eve L. Ewing (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 252 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
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Electric Arches is an imaginative exploration of Black girlhood and womanhood through poetry, visual art, and narrative prose.

Blending stark realism with the surreal and fantastic, Eve L. Ewing’s narrative takes us from the streets of 1990s Chicago to an unspecified future, deftly navigating the boundaries of space, time, and reality. Ewing imagines familiar figures in magical circumstances―blues legend Koko Taylor is a tall-tale hero; LeBron James travels through time and encounters his teenage self. She identifies everyday objects―hair moisturizer, a spiral notebook―as precious icons.

Her visual art is spare, playful, and poignant―a cereal box decoder ring that allows the wearer to understand what Black girls are saying; a teacher’s angry, subversive message scrawled on the chalkboard. Electric Arches invites fresh conversations about race, gender, the city, identity, and the joy and pain of growing up.

Eve L. Ewing is a writer, scholar, artist, and educator from Chicago. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The New Yorker, New Republic, The Nation, The Atlantic, and many other publications. She is a sociologist at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    94 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Haymarket Books
  4. Publication date
    September 12, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    7.9 x 0.4 x 7.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1608468569
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1608468560
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this stunning debut, poet and sociologist Ewing brings to bear a variety of forms and mediums--including the prose poem, the lyric, mixed media collage, handwritten notes and ephemera, and the verse play--on set of related questions about the nature of art and politics. Ewing ponders what the "big fireworks" of the imagination make possible for social justice, asking how "the places we invent" can change the ways we negotiate a broken system in which the realities of a city block's crumbling infrastructure and economic destitution can limit the potential of the individual and collective alike. As the book unfolds, Ewing further refines her lines of inquiry; her subtle, provocative exploration of the boundaries between self and world allows a striking and visionary topography to take shape."- Publishers Weekly

"This remarkable debut begins with the clearest reminders of what African Americans have endured, then takes a running leap into rapturous possibility--not as mere escape, but rather as a way of summoning up the miraculous web of hope, knowledge, love, and belief that has sustained black life in this country through unforgiving centuries. While reading, I found myself continually thinking, I had no idea you could make poetry do that, followed by, Thank God she has done this."- National Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith

"The spirit of this collection soars and Ewing tackles so much across the writing and art offered here.... [T]he poetry was so exact and vivid that I could smell the pink oil, feel the texture of it against my fingers. I cannot ask for more from writing. Electric Arches is well worth your time. The writing here will make you think and feel and grow."- Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and Hunger

"Ewing writes trenchantly and tenderly.... Her language is conversational, her verse lulling the reader into territory that feels immediately familiar, even when it isn't."- The Paris Review

"Refreshing and captivating."- LA Review of Books

About the Author

Eve L. Ewing is a writer, scholar, artist, and educator from Chicago. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Nation, The Atlantic, and many other venues. She is a sociologist at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Haymarket Books (September 12, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 94 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1608468569
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1608468560
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.9 x 0.4 x 7.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 252 ratings

About the author

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Eve L. Ewing

Eve L. Ewing

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Dr. Eve Louise Ewing is a sociologist of education whose research is focused on racism, social inequality, and urban policy, and the impact of these forces on American public schools and the lives of young people. She often uses public platforms to discuss these social issues, particularly Twitter, where she is a well-recognized commentator with over 160,000 followers and 15-30 million views each month. She is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Eve is also an essayist and poet. Her work has been published in many venues, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, The Indiana Review, and many other venues. She co-directs Crescendo Literary, a partnership that develops community-engaged arts events and educational resources as a form of cultural organizing. Eve is one-half of the writing collective Echo Hotel, alongside Hanif Abdurraqib.

Eve has been an educator in both traditional and community-based settings, including Chicago Public Schools, After School Matters, Harvard University, and Wellesley College. She is the current President of the Board of Directors of MassLEAP, a non-profit organization dedicated to building and supporting spaces for youth, artist-educators, and organizers to foster positive youth development through spoken word poetry forums throughout Massachusetts.

Born and raised in the Logan Square community of Chicago, Eve is a proud alumna of Chicago Public Schools. She completed her doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to that, she received an undergraduate degree with honors in English Language & Literature from the University of Chicago, with a focus on African-American literature of the twentieth century. She also holds an MAT in Elementary Education from Dominican University and an M.Ed in Education Policy and Management from Harvard.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
252 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Steven Anthony Furio
5.0 out of 5 stars i was glad to be wrong about Eve.
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
i bought this on reading about #ironheartEve. have to say, it was based in pure curiosity about the author herself, and the identity politics surrounding the nomination of her semblance to the character Riri.
i flipped thru and purely by fate or happenstance, i landed on 'On Prince', and glanced over the lines. Prince > Mj imo (sorry, not sorry. always felt this way since the mid eighties listening to my sister's copy of Purple Rain thru my tape player alarm clock during the late evenings)
she spoke of Jack Napier Joker signing the paintings in the Michael Keaton Batman, and her internal association/relationship to Prince as an artist quite eloquently. she's an emotive illustrator with words. i felt every word jump off the page. then I dove right into 'Origin Story', about her parents' early yrs and how they met, and her concepts of love & comic books. i tend to board and bag my books, but some days, i really do know the feel of a great issue rolled up, in my back pocket. a book worth reading on a bench in the sun, just like this one.
10 people found this helpful
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Brittany Spires
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2023
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Eve Ewing is an amazing writer.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic true writing by a genius writer.
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2017
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I'll say just a thing or two about this book, which I read through in one day's worth of musing and meditating on the human condition. I don't know how to say how good this book is. Stories and poems by a wise young black woman with a fantastic ear for human life. Chicago, a city where I did some of my growing up, appears frequently here. Fullerton Avenue, even! (I lived just south of Diverse.) Women appear here, and girls. Feels autobiographical. Feels real. Thank you, Ms. Eve L. Ewing, brilliant writer. Many thanks.
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Andrew E McBurney
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling look
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2019
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This work makes me think, and that is just about the best compliment I can pay anything. The images and stories and lives held within it, are brought to vibrant life in poetry and prose. I'm glad I read it, I know from time to time I will return to it, and I recommend it to anyone, anywhere.
2 people found this helpful
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anonymous1234
5.0 out of 5 stars Short, Sweet, and Moving
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2018
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Ewing writes a strong book that touches all of your senses, and pulls on your heart strings. This beautifully crafted book details life inside and outside of the body - and all that, both, are subjected to. A good read to exercise more than just the brain.
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Sarah Parry
4.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2019
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Feels like you are in Chicago experiencing the beauty and heartbreak ... Her words take you on a journey and amid pain bring you joy.
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D. Sanger
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant poet . . . Future MacArthur Foundation Fellow!
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
Fantastic book . . . poems . . . mini essays . . . meditations. Eve Ewing is brilliant! Won't be surprised to see her named a MacArthur Fellow. The poem "What I mean when I say I'm sharpening my oyster knife" alone would be worth the price.
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Terrance
5.0 out of 5 stars Eve is a voice few can afford to go without in this generation
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
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Eve showcased her skill in blending her sharp poetic voice with her wealth of sociological knowledge in this book full of wit & vulnerability. It felt like a fountain of optimism & honest reflection that avoided bubblegum language & struck at real life situations with urgency. The diction & cohesiveness showcased were also impressive
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Top reviews from other countries

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Reakash Walters
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, heart wrenching.
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2018
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This book is a dream. Buy it.
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FleeFlo
5.0 out of 5 stars Meraviglioso libro per ora solo in Inglese
Reviewed in Italy on October 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
Una Deliziosa combinazione di poesia e prosa. Messaggi sul razzismo insito nella società, di grande rilevanza e crudelta' ma espresi con eleganza e dolcezza. Innovazione nello stile letterario che intercambia, con magnifica opportunità, genere letterario, font, corsivi, punteggiatura. Tutto per arrivare dritto al cuore con incisiva bellezza.
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