Eliza Jane Franklin Reviews The Other Revival by Salaam Green

Eliza Jane Franklin, noted historian, poet, heritage conservationist, and descendant advocate (among many other things), recently reviewed Salaam Green’s collection The Other Revival for the Alabama Writers Forum. 

“Salaam Green’s The Other Revival: Poems and Reckonings is a literary Ouija board conjuring the past into the present,” she begins, going on to say that “if a picture is worth 1,000 words, these poems are worth a lifetime. The 39 people enslaved by Samuel Wallace, the original owner of the plantation, are made visible after being rendered undecipherable for numerous years.

“For all those who are heavy laden, this book provides a rest stop for the soul—a revival. Green manifests a gathering under the umbrella of the front and back covers of this book, likened to a traditional Southern Baptist church’s doors swinging open for an altar call. [...] Green is clear that reconciliation of the past is possible for those who believe.”

To read the rest of this beautifully written and insightful review, click here. 

Eliza Jane Franklin, PhD(c), M.H.C., M.U.R.P., is a historian and heritage conservationist living in Eufaula, AL, specializing in Black memory, material culture, and African American heritage. Known as The Southern Belle Radical, she bridges academic research and public scholarship to recover marginalized histories across the African diaspora. 

Salaam Green is the inaugural poet laureate of historic Birmingham, Alabama, 2024-2025. She graduated from the University of Montevallo with an English degree and has a MS in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Dakota. Green has garnered residencies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, The Wallace House for Arts and Reconciliation, and Auburn University. She has spent more than 16 years as an arts educator, healer, and community leader.