Bookverdict.com

It is no surprise that this first published collection of poetry by the current U.S. Poet Laureate received the Cave Canem Poetry Prize for the best first book by an African American poet in 2002, for Smith already possessed a voice of strength, beauty, and originality that would eventually lead to the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for the collection Life on Mars. That Smith's voice is so clearly present in this early work is a wonder. These poems avoid the pitfalls that ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More