I picked this up just because it was on my favorite bookseller's rec shelf at Hooked. And I would like to know HOW HAD I NEVER HEARD OF WANDA COLEMAN BEFORE? Her frank writing, especially about the perpetually exploitive systems of poverty, blew me away.

I wrote down lots of favorite poems to return to and read again, but a few highlights were the anxiety/vulnerability of "Giving Birth," the heartbreak of "Emmett Till," the playfulness/wistfulness of "Thiefheart."

What people talk about when they call poetry powerful. ( )

I had not heard of Wanda Coleman before picking up this new collection of her selected works but it made me an instant fan. Sadly, she passed in 2013. Most of these poems were written 30-40 years ago but are strikingly relevant to the current racial environment in America today. I hope this collection finds her a whole new audience. ( )