''Olio'' is a book of poetry written by

Tyehimba Jess Tyehimba Jess (born 1965 in Detroit) is an American poet. His book '' Olio'' received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Biography Early life Tyehimba Jess was born Jesse S. Goodwin. He grew up in Detroit, where his father worked in that city' ...

that was released in 2016. The book is split into 16 sections, 14 of which are poems with the introduction section and extras and acknowledgments acting as the beginning and ending sections, and illustrated by Jessica Lynne Brown. ''Olio'' won the 2017

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...

Purpose

Jess' purpose behind writing ''Olio'' was to put together the work of first-generation freed slaves to share their story and their suffering, as well as to create a piece of work that each reader will experience differently. "Fix your eyes on the flex of these first-generation-freed voices: They coalesce in counterpoint, name nemeses, summon tongue to wit-ness. Weave your own chosen way between these voices". (Jess 3)

Characters

John William Boone John William "Blind" Boone (May 17, 1864 – October 4, 1927) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime music. Early life Boone was born in a Federal militia camp near Miami, Missouri, May 17, 1864, to a contraband slave, Rachel, who used ...

(1864-1927) * Henry Brown *

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

(1872-1906) * The Fisk Jubilee Singers *

Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, '' The Oyster Man'' in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and h ...

(1865–1909) *

Sissieretta Jones Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (January 5, 1868 or 1869 – June 24, 1933) was an American soprano. She sometimes was called "The Black Patti" in reference to Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. Jones' repertoire included grand opera, light o ...

(1868–1933) *

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

(1867–1917) *

Millie and Christine McKoy Millie and Christine McKoy (also spelled ''McCoy''; July 11, 1851 – October 8, 1912) were African-American pygopagus conjoined twins who went by the stage names "The United African Twins" "The Carolina Twins", "The Two-Headed Nightingale" and " ...

(1851–1912) *

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

(1856–1915) *

Tom Wiggins Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (May 25, 1849June 14, 1908) was an American pianist and composer. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th ...

(1849–1908) *

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. While some sources have ...

and

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters *George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer * George Walker (musician), English musician *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (il ...

Edmonia Lewis Mary Edmonia Lewis, also known as "Wildfire" (c. July 4, 1844 – September 17, 1907), was an American sculptor. Born in Upstate New York of mixed African-American and Native American ( Mississauga Ojibwe) heritage, she worked for most of her ...

(1844–1907)

References

External links

Book's publisher page
{{PulitzerPrize Poetry 2001–2025 American poetry collections 2016 poetry books Pulitzer Prize for Poetry–winning works