Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo
Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo is the story of three “colored girls,” three sisters and their mama from Charleston, South Carolina: Sassafrass, the oldest, a poet and a weaver like her mother, gone north to college, living with other artists in Los Angeles and trying to weave a life out of her work, her man, her memories and dreams; Cypress, the dancer,who leaves home to find new ways of moving and easing the contractions of her soul; Indigo, the youngest, still a child of Charleston—”too much of the south in her”—who lives in poetry, can talk to her dolls, and has a great gift of seeing the obvious magic of the world.
Praise & Reviews
“Miss Shange writes with such exquisite care and beauty that anybody can relate to her message.”
—Clive Barnes, The New York Times
“A marvel . . . Languages—colloquial, established, lyric—play together like the most lush chamber music, the coolest jazz, the brassiest marches, the hippest jug band . . . [It] leaves us filled with joy and yearning for more.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
“A jubilant celebration of womanhood—as moving as the moon . . . pure magic.”
—Kansas City Star
“Possessed of poetry, motion, and light . . . Shange’s tale is poignant, surprising, and deep as she looks at the different worlds of women and their special places therein.”
—Publishers Weekly