The Geography of Jazz

By Lenard D. Moore

A poetry collection by internationally acclaimed poet Lenard D. Moore focusing on jazz music as an experience and an inspiration.

In The Geography of Jazz, Moore celebrates jazz music and jazz musicians. Some of the poems address specific events. Others honor individual artists. Many do both. While the poems may not initially signal the rhythms of jazz in their presentation on the page, they convey jazz rhythms through Moore’s deft handling of the poetic line and his use of formal techniques including but not limited to assonance, onomatopoeia, and repetition. This collection also includes a new poetic form, jazzku, an innovation that recalls Japanese haiku and tanka.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blair
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781949467468

Lenard D. Moore

Lenard D. Moore is an internationally acclaimed poet and anthologist. His literary works have been published in more than fifteen countries and translated into more than a dozen languages. He teaches African American literature and creative writing at the University of Mount Olive, where he directs the literary festival. He is a U.S. Army Veteran. Moore is the author of The Geography of Jazz, A Temple Looming, Desert Storm: A Brief History, Forever Home, and The Open Eye, among others. He is the editor for One Window’s Light: A collection of Haiku. He is the founder and executive director of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective and the Executive Chairman of the North Carolina Haiku Society. He was the first African American president of the Haiku Society of America. His awards include the North Carolina Award for Literature and the Haiku Museum of Tokyo Award.

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