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Jackie Kay

JACKIE KAY is the author of the memoir Red Dust Road as well as several critically acclaimed poetry collections—including The Adoption Papers (winner of the Scottish Arts Council Book Award), Off Colour (shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize), and Life Mask (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation)—almost all of which were collected in Darling: New & Selected Poems. Her first novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award. A former National Poet of Scotland, she has also written several plays and children's books. She lives in Manchester, England.
Bessie Smith
Trumpet

Books

Bessie Smith
Trumpet

Get Inspired! Books for After-School Clubs & Activities

Coordinating after-school clubs and activities in your school community? Explore our collection of books that will help students discover their passion for new (and screen-free!) hobbies. Focusing on topics such as art, board games, crafting, cooking, nature, sports, and more—these books are bound to spark imagination and movement. Browse the middle school and high school

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FROM THE PAGE: Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend is at once a vivid biography of a central figure in American music history and a personal story about one woman’s search for recognition. In this remarkable book, Jackie Kay combines history and personal narrative, poetry and prose to create an enthralling account of an extraordinary life,

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