Okay now that I’m officially done let me reiterate… Y’all. Steven Willis is GIFTED. This is some raw talent & vulnerable poetry. I had visceral reactions reading the poems. His book speaks to systemic racism & specifically anti-Blackness that is pervasive in the United States & in his home city of Chicago. I’m floored by his talent. You can HEAR the spoken word as you’re reading. And the dedications to activists & victims of police violence/the militarized state/white supremacy that are at the beginning of many of the poems… it’s powerful. I know this is a collection of poems that I’ll be revisiting. & I would absolutely go to a reading of his. Wow. Thank you for writing this & sharing your lived experiences, Steven Willis.
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Happy National Poetry Month! Thank you to NetGalley & Button Poetry for the eARC of this book. Opinions are freely given & my own.