And that is why I say to you that, though it be a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times it is doubly so, doubly dynamic - to be young, gifted and black.

This book is a posthumous compilation of the writings of Lorraine Hansberry: letters, excepts from plays, transcripts of speeches,etc. It provides such insights into her thoughts and feelings and ideas, as well as into the broader American culture of her time. She was so brilliant, but died oh so young.

Write if you will: but write about the world as it is and as you think it ought to be and must be - if there is to be a world.

A really cute love story about young lovers who reunite after fifty years apart. Also, the art in this is amazing!

Really, the thing I kept saying to myself as I read this was, this is so important. Sarah tells her story, in her voice, about her own experience as a young trans woman. She weaves in facts and stories about the progress being made towards LGBTQ equality throughout the book since she is a political activist and advocate for LGBTQ rights, particularly for transgender people's rights. She manages to make the very political (in this sense in terms of legislative and campaigning) aspects clear and easy to understand, while also sharing deeply personal experiences that she's had throughout her life, especially around her transgender identity.

Wow. These stories are all so different and all so amazing. Finishing each one felt like I finished reading an entire book. The stories range from the mundane to the fantastical to the downright weird, but all so, SO good.

Spot on, much needed, book that breaks down and crushes the stereotypes of Black womanhood in contemporary America. The author pulls no punches in her writing either putting everything in its proper historical, social, and political context.

Loved this collection! I read all the poems in one sitting, with plans to read them again and again.

Chisala drew me in from the very first poem, and I love her ability to use very few words to say something profound. That being said, my favorite poems were the longer ones, where she took time to describe experiences and emotions that are impossible to explain. Here's a snippet from one of my faves:
sadly,
when the ocean is your border
you must make do.
home is far
and your hunger for it
might make your bones ache.

The poems vary in theme from love, to self-esteem, to family, to blackness, to the feeling of being in a country other than your own.