The title, One Shoe Marching Towards Heaven, is a koan. Koans function as teaching tools in the Zen tradition for monks working towards enlightenment. The Koans presented here strive to capture the simple voice of African-American wisdom speakers in a form that defies the boundaries of our literature. The numerical arc of the koans corresponds to the I-Ching. This book connects African-American culture with Asian culture. Though China is not referenced in the book, Chinese culture and wisdom functions as third rail of cultural infra-structure that informs much of the work. 

This is a book that is somehow about heaven. Heaven within the I-Ching is the place above, and location of the Creative. Earth is the place of the receptive. Heaven and Earth work together towards balance. Heaven is not a destination in the afterworld. It is an active force in everyday life working with the forces of earth towards balance. It is humans in between earth that play out the will and work of the cosmos.

About the Author

Bro. Yao (Hoke S. Glover III) is the former founder and co-owner of one of the Nation’s largest African American Bookstores from 1993-2008, and currently works as an Assistant Professor at Bowie State University in the Department of Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies. He is currently working on a book of essays called The Wuhan Soundtrack based on his experience living in Wuhan, China.

Category: Poetry/AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Trim size: 5.5" X 8.5"

Page count: 112pp.

Publication Date: 2020