Digitopia Blues: Race, Technology, and the American Voice - Softcover

Sobol, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0920159893 ISBN 13: 9780920159897

Publisher: Banff Centre Press, 2002

Synopsis

A lyrical analysis of the intersections between poetic speech and music, intertwined with the history of black/white relations in America.Digitopia Blues is a fluid narrative about orality and literacy -- their individual histories, and their blended futures. Musician and poet John Sobol pinpoints the African American struggle to find a language of revolutionary power through orality and music, as well as the literate poet's impulse to transcend the printed page. Then he locates literacy and orality in the new digital media, in rap, in rave and even in Napster. Sobol's book is intertwined with the stories of the blues, jazz and rock 'n' roll, the powerful world of the printed word and the potential dangers and advantages that digital communications technologies offer people of colour.

About this title

Review:

"Briskly paced and superbly written, Digitopia Blues provides a lucid account of the history of African-American music, a music that has become, for better or worse, the world's. His book begs to be read, and what's more, it begs to be discussed." -Martin Turenne, Georgia Straight

About the Author:

John Sobol has published hundreds of articles and was co-writer of The Genius of Lenny Breau, which won the 1999 Gemini Award for best Canadian TV arts documentary. As a saxophonist and oral poet he has given over 1,000 performances in 11 countries since 1979. His CD label, Word of Mouth, has released eight CDs including Blue History by his own John Sobol Poetry Band. In 1997, his poet-trio, Awol Love Vibe, released a book/CD titled The Ecstatic Almanac. He is currently the creative director of Globalhood, Canada's only digital lifestyle centre.

About this edition

• Publisher: Banff Centre Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0920159893
• ISBN 13: 9780920159897
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192