Turn Me Loose
Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers
Poems By Frank X Walker
Copyright Date: 2013
Published by: University of Georgia Press
Pages: 96
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46ngt9
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Book Info
Turn Me Loose
Book Description:

Around the void left by the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, the poems in this collection speak, unleashing the strong emotions both before and after the moment of assassination. Poems take on the voices of Evers's widow, Myrlie; his brother, Charles; his assassin, Byron De La Beckwith; and each of De La Beckwith's two wives. Except for the book's title,"Turn me loose," which were his final words, Evers remains in this collection silent. Yet the poems accumulate facets of the love and hate with which others saw this man, unghosting him in a way that only imagination makes possible.

eISBN: 978-0-8203-4586-4
Subjects: Language & Literature
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-viii)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. ix-xii)
  3. Foreword HOW DO WE COMPLY?: ANSWERING THE CALL OF MEDGAR EVERS
    Foreword HOW DO WE COMPLY?: ANSWERING THE CALL OF MEDGAR EVERS (pp. xiii-xx)
    Michelle S. Hite

    Kentucky assumes a prominent place in Frank X Walker’s five previous poetry collections. Affrilachia (2000) was his first collection and serves as the defining text of black life and experience in the Bluegrass State. Black Box: Poems (2006) extends Walker’s voice and vision of the overlooked lives of black people in Kentucky through a consideration of his own Affrilachian life. Walker’s persona poems keenly focus the issues of racial subjectivity and place through the embodied narratives of black subjects with deep Kentucky ties. Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York (2004) and When Winter Come: The Ascension of York (2008) imagined...

  4. Acknowledgments
    Acknowledgments (pp. xxi-xxii)
  5. Introduction
    Introduction (pp. xxiii-xxiv)

    Much of Mississippi’s and the South’s past is characterized by increased resistance to white supremacy in the face of overt and subtle racism that resulted in a multitude of crimes. These include crimes against the body, crimes against property, the collusion of public and private institutions in preventing access and opportunity to all people, and conspiracies of silence that continue today. This collection of poems seeks to interrupt that silence and shine a light on the important legacy of a civil rights icon all too often omitted from summaries of the era, by giving voice to a particular chapter in...

  6. PART I DIXIE SUITE
    • WHAT KILLS ME
      WHAT KILLS ME (pp. 3-3)
      Myrlie Evers
    • AMBIGUITY OVER THE CONFEDERATE FLAG
      AMBIGUITY OVER THE CONFEDERATE FLAG (pp. 4-4)
    • ROTTEN FRUIT
      ROTTEN FRUIT (pp. 5-6)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • HUMOR ME
      HUMOR ME (pp. 7-7)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • THE N-WORD
      THE N-WORD (pp. 8-9)
      Charles Evers
    • SOUTHERN SPORTS
      SOUTHERN SPORTS (pp. 10-10)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING I
      BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING I (pp. 11-11)
    • I’D WISH I WAS IN DIXIE TOO
      I’D WISH I WAS IN DIXIE TOO (pp. 12-12)
  7. PART II SOUTHERN DREAMS
    • FIRE PROOF
      FIRE PROOF (pp. 15-15)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • LISTENING TO MUSIC
      LISTENING TO MUSIC (pp. 16-16)
    • LIFE APES ART APES LIFE: BYRON DE LA BECKWITH REFLECTS ON BIRTH OF A NATION
      LIFE APES ART APES LIFE: BYRON DE LA BECKWITH REFLECTS ON BIRTH OF A NATION (pp. 17-17)
    • WHITE OF WAY after A. Van Jordan
      WHITE OF WAY after A. Van Jordan (pp. 18-18)
      Byron De La Beckwith

      [White] Power, noun

      1 belief in the fact that all white people have the God given and constitutionally guaranteed right to exercise, encourage, promote, celebrate and defend the privilege of being born superior to other races.

      [White] Pride, noun

      1 a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from the knowledge that all members of other races possess behaviors or abilities that distinguish them as inferior with the obvious exception of athletes, musicians, and comedians like Amos and Andy who make white folks laugh so hard they damn near piss themselves. The same goes for the tap dancing nigger butler...

    • MUSIC, NIGGERS & JEWS
      MUSIC, NIGGERS & JEWS (pp. 19-19)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • SWAMP THING
      SWAMP THING (pp. 20-20)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • STAND BY YOUR MAN
      STAND BY YOUR MAN (pp. 21-21)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • HUSBANDRY
      HUSBANDRY (pp. 22-22)
      Myrlie Evers
    • UNWRITTEN RULES FOR YOUNG BLACK BOYS WANTING TO LIVE IN MISSISSIPPI LONG ENOUGH TO BECOME MEN
      UNWRITTEN RULES FOR YOUNG BLACK BOYS WANTING TO LIVE IN MISSISSIPPI LONG ENOUGH TO BECOME MEN (pp. 23-24)
  8. PART III LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY…
    • BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING II
      BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING II (pp. 27-28)
    • AFTER DINNER IN MONEY, MISSISSIPPI after Tyehimba Jess
      AFTER DINNER IN MONEY, MISSISSIPPI after Tyehimba Jess (pp. 29-29)
    • WORLD WAR TOO
      WORLD WAR TOO (pp. 30-30)
      Myrlie Evers
    • BELIEVING IN HYMN
      BELIEVING IN HYMN (pp. 31-31)
      Myrlie Evers
    • SOUTHERN BELLS
      SOUTHERN BELLS (pp. 32-32)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • FIGHTING EXTINCTION
      FIGHTING EXTINCTION (pp. 33-33)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • HARRIET TUBMAN AS VILLAIN: A GHOST STORY
      HARRIET TUBMAN AS VILLAIN: A GHOST STORY (pp. 34-34)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • LEGAL LYNCHING
      LEGAL LYNCHING (pp. 35-35)
    • AFTER THE FBI SEARCHED THE BAYOU
      AFTER THE FBI SEARCHED THE BAYOU (pp. 36-36)
      Myrlie Evers
    • HAIKU FOR EMMETT TILL
      HAIKU FOR EMMETT TILL (pp. 37-37)
    • NO MORE FEAR
      NO MORE FEAR (pp. 38-38)
      Myrlie Evers
    • WHEN DEATH MOVED IN
      WHEN DEATH MOVED IN (pp. 39-40)
      Myrlie Evers
  9. PART IV GALLANT SOUTH
    • BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING III
      BYRON DE LA BECKWITH DREAMING III (pp. 43-43)
    • AFTER BIRTH
      AFTER BIRTH (pp. 44-44)
    • SORORITY MEETING Myrlie Evers speaks to Willie and Thelma De La Beckwith
      SORORITY MEETING Myrlie Evers speaks to Willie and Thelma De La Beckwith (pp. 45-46)
    • ONE-THIRD OF 180 GRAMS OF LEAD
      ONE-THIRD OF 180 GRAMS OF LEAD (pp. 47-47)
    • ARLINGTON
      ARLINGTON (pp. 48-48)
      Myrlie Evers
    • CROSS-EXAMINATION
      CROSS-EXAMINATION (pp. 49-49)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • BIGHEARTED Thelma De La Beckwith speaks to Myrlie Evers
      BIGHEARTED Thelma De La Beckwith speaks to Myrlie Evers (pp. 50-50)
    • ANATOMY OF HATE
      ANATOMY OF HATE (pp. 51-51)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • WHAT THEY CALL IRONY
      WHAT THEY CALL IRONY (pp. 52-52)
      Byron De La Beckwith
    • ON MOVING TO CALIFORNIA
      ON MOVING TO CALIFORNIA (pp. 53-54)
      Myrlie Evers
  10. PART V BITTER FRUIT
    • ONE MISSISSIPPI, TWO MISSISSIPPIS after Thomas Sayers Ellis
      ONE MISSISSIPPI, TWO MISSISSIPPIS after Thomas Sayers Ellis (pp. 57-57)
    • A FINAL ACCOUNTING
      A FINAL ACCOUNTING (pp. 58-58)
    • NOW ONE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT
      NOW ONE WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT (pp. 59-59)
      Thelma De La Beckwith
    • EPIPHANY
      EPIPHANY (pp. 60-60)
      Willie De La Beckwith
    • LAST MEAL HAIKU
      LAST MEAL HAIKU (pp. 61-61)
      Myrlie Evers
    • WHITE KNIGHTS
      WHITE KNIGHTS (pp. 62-62)
      Myrlie Evers
    • EVERS FAMILY SECRET RECIPE
      EVERS FAMILY SECRET RECIPE (pp. 63-63)
      Myrlie Evers
    • THE ASSURANCE MAN
      THE ASSURANCE MAN (pp. 64-64)
      Charles Evers
    • GIFT OF TIME
      GIFT OF TIME (pp. 65-65)
      Myrlie Evers
    • HEAVY WAIT
      HEAVY WAIT (pp. 66-66)
  11. Time Line
    Time Line (pp. 67-70)
  12. Bibliography
    Bibliography (pp. 71-71)
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