Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass

About the Book

Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembrance of Things Past and Present is about the captivity, exploitation and suffering of Black people in America, and their triumphs. The author, a history buff, took the challenge to look at the history of Black people in America, who are normally given one month, the shortest month of the year, February, to highlight “Black History” in America, and wrote this “epic.” For those who would separate “Black History” in America from American history, know this: American history and Black History in America are one and the same; one does not exist without the other, even though the latter has oftentimes been relegated to the shadows of American history. Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass is a co-winner of the Edwin Mellen Poetry Prize for an epic poem (1998) and was published in 2000 by the Edwin Mellen Poetry Press.

About the Author

William E. Waters is an award-winning poet, playwright and author. His poetry has been in a number of anthologies and magazines, including Rattle and AIM. In 1998 he was the co-winner of the Edwin Mellen Poetry Prize for his epic poem, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, published in 2000 by Edwin Mellen Poetry Press. For the past ten years the author has worked for the Osborne Association, a not for profit criminal justice organization that works with people impacted and affected by the criminal justice system. Waters states that he is “a change agent for a just society” and is committed to his organization’s mission of transforming lives, communities and the criminal justice system. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary, and bachelors’ degrees from SUNY New Paltz and Albany University. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.