“Detroit is a city of stories. In this way, we are rich. We begin with abundance.”
That’s from the introduction of the book A Detroit Anthology, a collection of essays and poems from Detroiters. Anna Clark is the editor of the book.
Clark said this is a book for people who have some familiarity and connection with the city, and the stories in it come from people who can tell them in the first person.
“There’s no shortage of material about Detroit, but I was interested in having more candid, honest stories that people would tell one another, not the ones told in an explanatory fashion,” Clark said.
Below is an excerpt of one of the essays, When the Trees Stop Giving Fruit, written by Shaka Senghor.
I recall climbing high in the pear tree next door to retrieve the delicious fruit it offered. There was nothing I loved more than sinking my teeth into the sweet, juicy flesh of a yellowing pear. It’s one of my fondest memories from my childhood. No matter what was going on in my small world, I looked forward to the fruit of one of the many fruit trees on my street.Whether it was the plum tree in our backyard, my neighbor’s peach tree or their pear tree, I could always count on these succulent fruit to erase the pain of the moment. Then one day, the trees no longer gave fruit. It was then that I realized my neighborhood had died, leaving in its wake an iniquitous skeleton that no longer resembled the healthy, vibrant place I once called home.
Anna Clark and Shaka Senghor joined Stateside today to talk about the book and their experience.
* Listen to the full story above.
