{"id":4469,"date":"2023-08-29T17:05:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libraries.clemson.edu\/press\/?post_type=books&p=4469"},"modified":"2025-08-21T17:38:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:38:52","slug":"hawk","status":"publish","type":"books","link":"https:\/\/libraries.clemson.edu\/press\/books\/hawk\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hawk<\/em> is a magnificent long-form poem analogizing flight into space with freedom. First published in 1957, these new editions (paperback and hardcover facsimile) mark the first time Hawk<\/em> is widely available for purchase.<\/p>\n

Hawk<\/em> is an allegorical narrative book-length poem of personal struggle, fulfillment and responsibility set in the wilderness of space, written four years before human beings traveled beyond Earth\u2019s atmosphere. An energetic work that moves with jazz-like syncopation.
\n\u2014Patrick T. Reardon, Another Chicago Magazine<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

A new edition of Hawk<\/em> is a special way to mark Dr. Vivian Ayers\u2019s 100th birthday. It is also an especially important time for anyone who has not read Hawk to do so, and for anyone who read this book when it was first published to read it again.
\n\u2014Johnette Betsch Cole, President Emerita of Spelman and Bennett Colleges<\/p>\n

The poem Hawk<\/em> is the quintessential quest for freedom for all humankind. It is a representation of our search for enlightenment, creative expression, identity, and peace.
\n\u2014Carl S. McNair, brother of Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair<\/p>\n

I felt moved by Dr. Ayers Allen\u2019s insistence that \u201call things bursting with inspiration, nothing seemed insurmountable.\u201d I found Hawk<\/em> to be a statement of hope for our present and our future. The message from Hawk<\/em> throughout screamed to me the phrase quoted in the introduction: \u201cBe true! Be beautiful! Be free! Force nothing! \u2026 let things happen!\u201d I hope the re-publication of Hawk<\/em> will inspire and move readers young and old to dream and to believe in the critical importance of \u201ctruth as the angel of freedom.\u201d
\n\u2014Charles F. Bolden, Jr., 12th NASA Administrator, Major General, USMC (Ret.)<\/p>\n

Hawk<\/em> is a stunning work of verse. Soaring. Confident. The energy and momentum are exhilarating, as it toggles between the lyrical, incantatory, deeply intellectual, and narratively propulsive, with a cadence all its own. I was mesmerized.
\n\u2014Margot Douaihy, author of Scorched Grace<\/em>, Bandit\/Queen<\/em>, and Scranton Lace<\/em><\/p>\n

Hawk<\/em> is the legacy of our mother and our family. We lived her poetry and traveled the journey of freedom and a higher level of existence everyday.
\n\u2014Debbie Allen, actress, director, choreographer, and daughter of Vivian Ayers Allen<\/p>\n

Hawk<\/em> is an invocation\u2014original, eloquent, lyrical, rhythmic, comical, poignant, and profound!
\n\u2014Phylicia Rashad, actress, director, academic, and daughter of Vivian Ayers Allen<\/p>\n