{"product_id":"a-drop-of-patience-9781984899316","title":"A Drop of Patience","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of the great jazz novels of any era, \u003ci\u003eA Drop of Patience\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a blind horn player's journey through the themes of race, blindness, and music.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the age of five, Ludlow Washington is given up by his parents to a brutal white-run state institution for blind African American children, where everyone is taught music--the only trade by which they are expected to make a living. Ludlow is a prodigy on the horn and at fifteen is \"purchased\" out of the Home by a bandleader in the fictive Southern town of New Marsails. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy eighteen, he is married with a baby daughter, but as his reputation spreads, he seeks to grow musically, leaving his budding family for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New York City. Navigating the worlds of music and race and women, Ludlow's career follows an arc towards collapse, a nervous breakdown, recovery, a long-delayed public recognition, only for him to finally abandon the spotlight and return to his roots and find solace in the black church. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Drop of Patience\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant portrayal of a jazz musician. It stands apart as an exemplary parable of African American history, of racial politics, and of musical creative genius.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWILLIAM MELVIN KELLEY was born in New York City in 1937 and attended the Fieldston School and Harvard. The author of four novels and a short story collection, he was a writer in residence at the State University of New York at Geneseo and taught at The New School and Sarah Lawrence College. He was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for lifetime achievement and the Dana Reed Prize for creative writing. He died in 2017. In 2014 Kelley was officially credited by the \u003ci\u003eOxford English Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e with coining the political term \"woke,\" in a 1962 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e article entitled \"If You're Woke You Dig It.\"\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Anchor Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50493662757138,"sku":"9781984899316","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_225ad16e-8a21-41b9-a100-f873a7ea4ba0.jpg?v=1730655801","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-drop-of-patience-9781984899316","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}