Black Prayers

‘My original thought when writing this book was as a paean to the church – the Black Church – that had sustained me throughout my childhood and boyhood. I wanted to say thank you for all the joy, strength, hope and faith it had given me.
‘I also wanted to celebrate the wider voices of the black diaspora that have added an essence of wisdom to my youth and adulthood: I would not be the person I am today without these voices and influences.
‘I have learned that silence is blessing if you seek the truth, but there comes a time to sing of the truths – so I have now chosen to sing.
‘God works and is manifest through the flesh of people. If we listen to the God Voice within, we can hear the genetically coded source of holy science throughout our brief sojourn on this planet. Read, enjoy, and if it is your wont – get annoyed!
‘All I desire is that these poems move you.’
Elijah Karriem

The author was born in London to Jamaican parents and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire. After leaving school, he studied graphic design at Jacob Kramer in Leeds and later art at Dewsbury and Batley Art College. He subsequently worked in the IT Industry in and around London for over 30 years. He has three children and now resides in Birmingham.
Over the past three years since moving to Birmingham, he has revaluated his life and returned to the creative process that guided his youth. This book of poems displays some of the fruits of these recent years.