{"title":"Colby Cedar Smith","description":"Colby Cedar Smith grew up in the Midwest, and she still dreams of the cold northern woods and the smell of lake water. She holds degrees from Colorado College and Harvard University. She has been a finalist for the The Iowa Review Poetry Award, the New Letters Poetry Prize, and the Colorado Prize for Poetry, and a semifinalist for the 92Y \"Discovery\" Boston Review Poetry Prize. In 2020, Colby received a NJ Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry. Her poems have been published in Bellevue Literary Review, Harper Palate, Mid-American Review, Pleiades, Potomac Review, Saranac Review, and The Iowa Review. Colby lives with her husband and two children in Hopewell, New Jersey, and teaches creative writing at the Arts Council of Princeton.You can read more of her work at www.colbycedarsmith.com.","products":[{"product_id":"call-me-athena-girl-from-detroit-paperback","title":"Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn enchanting novel in verse, \u003ci\u003eCall Me Athena\u003c\/i\u003e captures one young woman's struggle for independence, equality, and identity as the daughter of Greek and French immigrants in tumultuous 1930s Detroit.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMary lives in a tiny apartment in Detroit in the 1930s with her Greek and French immigrant parents, her brothers, and her twin sister, and she questions why her parents ever came to America. She yearns for true love, to own her own business, and to be an independent, modern American woman--much to the chagrin of her parents, who want her to be a \"good Greek girl.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mary's story is peppered with flashbacks to her parents' childhoods in Greece and northern France; their stories connect with Mary as they address issues of arranged marriage, learning about independence, and yearning to grow beyond one's own culture. Though \u003ci\u003eCall Me Athena\u003c\/i\u003e is written from the perspective of three profoundly different narrators, it has a wide-reaching message: It takes courage to fight for tradition and heritage, as well as freedom, love, and equality. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eCall Me Athena: Girl from Detroit\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully written novel in verse loosely based on author Colby Cedar Smith's paternal grandmother, creating a historically accurate portrayal of life as an immigrant during the Great Depression, hunger strikes, and violent riots.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50552080498911,"sku":"9781524865450","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/tPjbEUU7--9781524865450.webp?v=1783791389"},{"product_id":"the-siren-and-the-star-hardcover","title":"The Siren and the Star - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eAn ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List Selection\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Soaring and searing.\" --Elizabeth Acevedo, former Young People\u003c\/b\u003e'\u003cb\u003es Poet Laureate and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003ePoet X\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA promising young singer recovers from a traumatic experience by traveling to Venice and connecting with the work of a 17th-century female composer in this gorgeous and sensual novel in verse from the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eCall Me Athena\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIntroverted and homeschooled, vocal prodigy Luciana \"Lula\" Gabroni is ready to become the star she's trained all her life to be. After entering the New England Conservatory of Music, she is immediately chosen to join an elite ensemble of peers who will compete in a prestigious music festival in modern-day Venice, Italy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBarbara Strozzi is a poor young woman living in 17th-century Venice who dreams of making her mark on the world through her gift of song. She is determined to fight against the prescribed path of an illegitimate servant girl, daring to envision a life filled with intellect, pleasure, and independence--even as the restrictions of her gender and status threaten to silence her forever. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Lula comes across Barbara's bold and seductive music in the Conservatory library, she immediately feels a striking kinship with the mysterious female composer. After an incident at school sends Lula searching to reclaim her voice, she soon realizes she must connect with the ghosts of the past to find her heart's true song once again.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50563982360799,"sku":"9781665972178","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/0Vm9oIJaDV9781665972178.webp?v=1783889711"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/colby-cedar-smith.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}