
The Education of Kevin Powell
A Boy's Journey into Manhood
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Powell
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By:
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Kevin Powell
About this listen
In the spirit of Piri Thomas' Down These Mean Streets and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this powerful memoir by writer and activist Kevin Powell vividly recounts the horrific poverty of his youth; his struggles to overcome a legacy of anger, violence, and self-hatred; and his journey to be a man and a voice for others.
Driven by his single mother's dreams for his survival and success, Kevin Powell became the first in his family to attend a university, where he became a student leader keenly aware of widespread social injustice. But the struggle to define himself and break out of poverty continued into adulthood, with traumatic periods of homelessness and despair. As a young star journalist with Vibe magazine, Powell interviewed luminaries such as Tupac Shakur, writing influential chronicles of the evolution of hip-hop from his eyewitness view. Now, with searing honesty, Powell examines his troubled relationships, his appearance on MTV's first season of The Real World, his battles with alcohol and depression, his two campaigns for Congress, and the uplifting trip to Africa that renewed his sense of personal mission. Finally, Powell embarks on a search for the father he never really knew in a redemptive passage from abandonment to self-discovery.
A striking memoir by a child of post-Civil Rights America, The Education of Kevin Powell gives eloquent testimony to the power of the soul to heal.
©2015 Kevin Powell (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Into Williams's childhood home-a one-story ranch house-his father crammed more books than the local library could hold. "Pappy" used some of these volumes to run an academic prep service; the rest he used in his unending pursuit of wisdom. His son's pursuits were quite different: "money, hoes, and clothes."
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The book is awful and so is anyone who praises it.
- By jason on 04-21-12
Raw Honest and Humble
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Powell himself narrates with stellar, passionate narration. He knows how to tell at story. His attention to detail makes his memories crackling and alive.
Crackling and Alive
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Terrible narration
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Excellent
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The voice of a man who speaks not only of himself but of all who share similar life experiences but never write or talk about them. Surely this book will provide education for all its readers. As the pieces of this writer’s life comes together we are faced with the question, now what? How do we become our best selves and build a better community for our children, for each other?
Powerful
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A Powellful story of a boy's lifetime! A classic!!
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Impressive right from the start.
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A must read for those who enjoy authenticity
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still uneducated
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