{"product_id":"tending-the-vines-black-abundance-in-eight-plants-hardcover","title":"Tending the Vines: Black Abundance in Eight Plants - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAshia S. Ajani\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis standout creative nonfiction debut explores the lives and histories of plants considered nonnative or invasive as metaphors for the Black experience in America. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In\u003ci\u003e Tending the Vines\u003c\/i\u003e, Ashia S. Ajani illuminates how eight unique plants tell the story of the Black diaspora in America. Each chapter is a deep dive into one plant--including eucalyptus, passionflower, wild mustard, and kudzu--exploring their significance in African tradition, their role through the Middle Passage and Chattel Slavery, and their enduring importance in modern households and communities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eTending the Vines \u003c\/i\u003eunpacks the complex rhetorical lives of these plants, most of which have been used as both ugly metaphors for Black incursion as well as powerful symbols for Black liberation. It also highlights the ethnobotanical uses that have sustained displaced populations for centuries. Throughout, Ajani complicates our notions of \"invasive\" and belonging, by contextualizing how plants move, are moved, and, of course, move us.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAshia S. Ajani \u003c\/b\u003eis a storyteller and environmental educator born and raised in Denver, CO, unceded territory of the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples. Their work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eSierra Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOrion Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCallaloo Literary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAtmos Literary Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. \u003ci\u003eHeirloom \u003c\/i\u003e(Write Bloody Publishing, 2023) was their debut poetry collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.3 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 15, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56435026428209,"sku":"9781643264769","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1004\/9532\/7537\/files\/DH1IBodjL49781643264769.webp?v=1790164535","url":"https:\/\/mitchellofficial.com\/products\/tending-the-vines-black-abundance-in-eight-plants-hardcover","provider":"MITCHELL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}