Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel

"A jubilant celebration of womanhood—as moving as the moon . . . pure magic." — The Kansas City Star

Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. Sassafrass, the oldest, is a poet and a weaver like her mother before her. Having gone north to college, she is now living in Los Angeles with other artists and trying to fashion a life for herself out of her work, her man, her memories, and her dreams. Cypress, the dancer, leaves home to discover new ways of moving in the world. Indigo, the youngest, is still a child of Charleston—"too much of the south in her"—who lives in poetry and has the supreme gift of seeing the obvious magic of the world. Shange's rich and wondrous story of womanhood, art, and passionately lived lives is written "with such exquisite care and beauty that anybody can relate to her message" ( The New York Times).

"Possessed of poetry, motion, and light . . . Shange's tale is poignant, surprising, and deep as she looks at the different worlds of women and their special places therein."― Publishers Weekly