Molefi K. Asante Jr. author of Water Running off My Back

This collection of poetry is a window into the mind and soul of a hip young poet intent on searching for the "truth in everything". Molefi Asante Jr. writes in the tradition of African American poets who have laid a foundation rich in culture and rhythm. With poems covering a wide range of themes-identity, relationships, and family his poems reveal a young poet with intense sensibilities to the multiplicity of human possibilities. Painting pictures and emotions with words, Like Water Running Off My Back confronts contemporary issues with a profound lyricism. Without a doubt this young poet is the voice of a new hot consciousness.

Molefi K. Assante, Jr., 20, was born in Haraee, Zimbabwe. Raised and educated in Philadelphia, he is an English and Africana Studies major at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa He has read his poetry in the United States, Africa and Europe and is the winner of the 2002 American Academy of Poets Jean Corrie Prize.

“The poems in Like Water Running Off My Back, are driven by a music heard in the deep recesses of our collective African-American memory. What is remarkable about them is their energy, their focus, their truth – and that they emerge from a generation many of us believe had been lost. Bravo! Mr. Assante is a writer to watch.” Charles Fuller, Pulitzer Prize Winner.











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