Israel's Poetry of Resistance Africana Perspectives on Early Hebrew Verse

"Not only did I learn much from reading Israel's Poetry of Resistance, I genuinely enjoyed engaging it, playing with it, riffing with it and on it. It is a fun and provocative read. Hugh Page displays daring interpretive play and the willingness to mix it up with different discursive worlds not usually in conversation. With this book Page has clearly positioned himself among the most creative contemporary scholars of the Bible." Vincent L. Wimbush Claremont Graduate University "In this insightful and powerfully charged book, Hugh Page lays bare the richness and relevance that the most ancient poems in the Bible hold for the Africana community especially, but for all who care about the marginalized in society. His breadth as solid scholar, sensitive poet, and pastoral theologian enables him to mine the treasures embedded in the ancient scriptural texts, to empathize with the social situation and plight of the displaced and marginalized Israelites, and to articulate the biblical message of prayerful resistance to those outside the social and political mainstream today. This book will be a rich resource for biblical scholars interested in Israel's ancient poetry, for modern people experiencing marginalization, and for pastors who minister to this portion of God's people." Eugene Ulrich University of Notre Dame "In Israel's Poetry of Resistance, Hugh Page illuminates an Africana trajectory of Israelite poetry, reading its language in concert with African diasporic people who turn to the Bible to inspire their own acts of resistance. Page's translations are fresh, critically nuanced, inspiring, evocative and above all poetic. His subtle wordplay evokes deep resonances between the text and the layers of Africana culture he samples. Page's work powerfully conjures a living, breathing text, offering a glimpse of a life in neighborhoods unfamiliar to previous docents of ancient Israelite poetry. This volume is a must for anyone interested in Biblical Hebrew poetry, its translation and interpretation." WilGafney Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia "The power of biblical poetry comes alive in the pages of Hugh R. Page, Jr.'s seminal work Israel's Poetry of Resistance: Africana Perspectives on Early Hebrew Verse. Page's riveting fusion of the horizons of Hebrew poetry, the Africana tradition, and autobiography, shifts the geography of reflection on Hebrew poetry and excavates its ethical and transformative significance for projects of recovery and freedom throughout the Africana world and beyond. Its exploration and illumination of our understanding of the diverse and complex dimensions of early Hebrew and Africana identity and experience demonstrate Page's ability as biblical scholar and acute cultural analyst." Leslie R. James DePauw University