PUSH by Sapphire is a story told from the point of view of an illiterate, brutalized Harlem teenager.
Obese, dark-skinned, HIV-positive, bullied by her sexually abusive mother, Clareece, Precious Jones is, at the novel's outset, pregnant for the second time with her father's child. Referred to a pilot program by her school principal, Precious comes under the mentorship of her teacher, Blue Rain. Under her teaching, Precious, who has never before experienced real nurturing, learns to voice her long suppressed feelings in a journal. As her language skills improve, she finds sustenance in writing poetry, in friendships and in support groups-one for incest survivors and one for HIV-positive teens.
Sapphire graduated from City College in New York and received an MFA from Brooklyn College. From 1983 to 1993 she lived in Harlem, where she taught reading and writing to teenagers and adults. She is a performance poet and the author of a collection of poetry and prose, American Dreams. She lives in New York City.
May
2006
