(1993) is Dennis Brutus’ twelfth volume of poetry. The chapbook contains 28 brief free verse poems and 8 haiku (a variant of the
chueh chuform Brutus’ experiments in
China Poems, 1975). The volume is 32 pages in length, including a six page introduction by African American poet Lamont B. Steptoe. The title evokes Brutus’
Sirens, Knuckles, Boots(1963) and thus emphasizes the ongoing struggle against apartheid specifically and human rights abuses generally. There is no allusion to the Sirens of Greek mythology; rather, the term underscores the wail of emergency vehicles and the attendant human suffering. Brutus’s poetic silence since the publication of
Still the Sirensemphasizes that he has refocused his energies to direct social and political engagement, a fact…
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Citation: McLuckie, Craig. "Still the Sirens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 March 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12238, accessed 16 April 2024.]
