Description
Speech in an Age of Certainty
by J. Khan
$14.99, paper
978-1-64662-521-5
2021
Khan is a prize-winning poet who has published activist works in the United States and internationally. Combining imagery and narrative technique, he takes the reader on compelling journeys into the times, locations and situations that underpin and drive much of the present demand for change.
His poems touch and connect many shores, from Black Lives Matter to hurricanes in Puerto Rico, from the Mayflower to Homan Square. From WW2 Japan to Standing Rock protests. He fiercely illustrates our past and ongoing battles against genocide, extractive energy, brutal policing, war-for-profit, and more in page turning, provocative lyric form.
Debbie Theiss (verified owner) –
J Khan’s book, Speech in an Age of Certainty is a deep and moving collection of storied injustices that are achingly affecting. The poems are intense yet intimate filled with stark details and unforgettable images of prejudices, inequalities, biases, and wrongs. You will find his poems accessible and will appreciate his emotional directness. I found the book compelling and highly recommend it.
Eric Ziegenhorn (verified owner) –
These poems kick ass. I devoured the whole book in one sitting. I’m now back on line buying copies for my kids and friends.
Denise LOW-WESO (verified owner) –
J.Khan’s new book is filled with intense, vivid language. Be ready for a high-speed chase as he critiques political injustices and assaults on the environment.
J. Khan –
An online interview by former Kansas Poet Laureate Denise Low regarding this book is posted at:
https://deniselow.blogspot.com/2021/08/denise-low-interviews-jemshed-khan.html
Please note I am the book author posting this comment and rating.
Meg Freer (verified owner) –
The author tackles contentious contemporary issues with skill in a lyrical but unflinching style that personifies and personalizes the marginalized people in his poems. A few brief interludes between more political poems reflect on environmental concerns, which of course are also political in their own way. A lot of thought and hard work went into this collection. Highly recommend.
Ronda Miller –
Speech in an Age of Certainty
Jemshed Khan’s book of poetry is a remarkable read. There are those people who are aware of social injustices, those who are blind to them, those who simply do not care, those who commit social injustices… and then there is Khan.
Khan bears witness personally, through observation, experiences and awareness, on a deeper, more cellular level.
Khan’s poems are necessary gut punches indicative of how inhumane humans the world over remain.
Khan’s poems are a brilliant and necessary reminder that there are those amongst us who care enough to give Voice to social injustice, not only to make us aware of them, but more importantly, to bring about change.
James Benger –
Speech in an Age of Certainty is one of the biggest, heaviest, most effortlessly nuanced books one is apt to read. That’s saying something for a chapbook that clocks in at just 35 pages. J. Khan makes not only every poem and page and stanza count, practically every syllable in this tiny tome of massive thought is honed with surgical precision for maximum impact, inviting, if not flat-out demanding multiple reads.
If Speech in an Age of Certainty has a singular goal, it is to give voice to and bring awareness of the oppressed, the misunderstood, the overlooked. J. Khan sings their songs in a way that is shocking, vibrant, sometimes brutal, and yet always beautifully lyrical.
Speech in an Age of Certainty is a book of resistance, a call to arms, a wakeup to those willing to listen, and ultimately a love letter to the often marginalized. J. Khan has created a small book of titanic truths that will permeate the reader long after it is closed.
-James Benger, author of From the Back