I absolutely loved the way that this book was written. It is so interesting that each one of their stories were told so poignantly in a choreopoem. It really interested me to see how she turned this intense story into a beautiful graceful poem without taking away part of the intensity. It was so awesome to see this dramatic change in the book. I couldn’t help but make comparisons to the writing styles of shange and walker. They were completely different but each one had a distinct prose.

its really interesting how much i thought about the color purple during this book. the lady in red reminded me of shug avery. there were characteristics of the lady in red that really stood out. one was the way that she fought so much. she had this passion and charisma that seemed to completely draw people in and yet when she was angry that could completely change. I feel like in the way that the lady in red danced it was like shug in the way that she singed. It kept them from going crazy and succumbing to everything that was said about them.

Lady Red

My favorite person or "color" was the Lady Red. Her acceptance of abuse came to a halt and she knew that she couldn't take it anymore. Even though her obsession for this man was strong, she was able to be stronger and make it go away. Her line "I found God in myelf/and I loved her/I loved her fiercely" has so much meaning behind it. She found what she needed most-personal acceptance and love. The love was so fierce for herself that she found the strength to be done with him. The part where she says that she has been watering the plant since she knew him shows that she continually gave of herself but never received anything back. She then continues to dance to keep from crying and and dying. Her inner self is battling, but her will is stronger.

Choreopoem

The first thing I learned from this book is that it's use of choreopoem is displayed throughout. It is the blending of music, dance, and poetry. These girls have a story and a life to tell and they do just that in their own ways with their own thoughts. The "colors" that represent each woman, I believe has so much more meaning behind it than meets the eye. I am still trying to figure it out honestly. I am beginning to think that it has alot to do with being comfortable in your own skin, whether your colors are different from everybody else's. This idea reminds me of the song by Phil Collins called "True Colors." It applies to these poems and how one merely yearns to be accepted no matter what. It begins with a lady in brown and the rest follows with women who are each a color from the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The situations that they face in their lives are the repercussions of "being alive and being colored." The "dark phrases" are what intrigued me because she expressed the trials of being a black woman growing up in America. But the childishness ensues as they play freeze tag. The innocence is not fully lost.

Lady in Black

One thing that Professor Dempster said that was interesting was regarding the color black. First of all, he said that black is what all the colors are combined, and thus, the ladies refer to themselves as black. They all are all of them.
Second of all, black is the color we see through. Its the color of our pupils. The Lady in Black is the author. She is the one seeing all of this. Then again, we are the Ladies in Black. We are the ones reading it.

Lady in Red

Shange used the colors to portray different emotions and characteristics of the women. The yellow one was cowardly and sickly, the blue one was sad, the orange one was kind of crazy, and the red one was passionate and angry.

She shows her anger by her passion.
" she was hot
a deliberate coquette
who never did without
what she wanted
& she wanted to be unforgettable
she wanted to be a memory
a wound to every man"

Then, once she had her way with them, she would have them leave and then cry herself to sleep. I am unclear as to whether this side of her came out after the abusive relationship she want through with beau willie or before. Somehow I think it was after.

Likes/Dislikes

I kind of liked the way the book flowed--I think she is a very talented writer, especially as she described the stories of the girls. It wasn't necessarily an easy read at points, being so abstract, but then again at other points it came together nicely.

I also enjoyed the creativity of the idea, assigning each girl a color of emotion and having her story match up to it. It was fun to follow, once I understood what was going on.

I didn't like the topics the girls talked about. They were obsessed with men; that is all they could think about--the men they had been with, slept with, lived with, the men who had hurt them, loved them, the men they had hurt themselves, and the list goes on and on and on. It leaves for a very narrow view of the world.

She also used foul language and was at points very sensually vulgar about the girls' experiences. That is art but I prefer something more discreet.