Transcript Tessa_Karati_StrangefruitandbillieholidayTK_6

Strange Fruit poem
And
Billie Holiday
By Tessa and Melissa
Strange Fruit Poem
Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
What is it about.?
Strange fruit poem was
written by a white
Jewish school teacher
and union activist from
New York named Abel
Meeropol, who was
outraged after seeing a
photograph
of
a
horrific lynching in a
civil-rights magazine.
The photo was a shot
of 2 black men hanging
from a tree after they
had been lynched in
Marion, Indiana on
August 7, 1930. The 2
men are the "Strange
Fruit."
How does it relate to Roll of Thunder
Hear My Cry.?
Strange fruit poem relates to the novel Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
because the poem talks about
Billie Holiday
Lady Day
•Billie Holiday was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania on April 7th 1915. She was an
American jazz singer and songwriter.
•She had a tough childhood, her mother being a
teenager and her dad neglecting her.
•She was recruited by a brothel, worked as a
prostitute in 1930, and was eventually imprisoned
for a short time for solicitation
•On May 16th 1947, Billie was arrested for
possession of narcotics and drugs. She was called
to trial, pleaded guilty and sent to prison. She
claimed that she never sang a note, even though people wanted her to. She was
released early march 1948, due to good behaviour.
•Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly
inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and
tempo. Above all, she was admired for her deeply personal and intimate approach to
singing.
Continued...
The 1950s !
•Holiday started using hard drugs in the 1940s
•She had and affair with her trumpeter who was also
her drug dealer.
•She divorced her husband and broke up with her
trumpeter boyfriend
•Her drug usage, drinking and relations to abusive men
led to a deteriorating health,
•Her voice coarsened and did not have the same
projection and richness it had. However she kept, if
not strengthened the emotional impact of her
delivery.
•She married again, and like most men in her life, her
husband was abusive but tried to get her off drugs.
Billie’s Death
On May 31st 1959, Holiday was taken to hospital suffering from
liver and heart disease. Police officers were stationed at the door
to her room. She was arrested for drug possession as she lay
dying and her hospital room was raided by authorities. Holiday
remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from
cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959. In the final years of her life
She died with $0.70 in the bank and $750 (a tabloid fee) on her
person.