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Gr 9 Up—This collection of poems starts like a letter to a friend: "Dear Knucklehead,/ have you ever had a planet lodged in your belly/ that could barely fit" and closes with: "Dear Knucklehead,/ I was a poet who was afraid to publish./ I was worried about seeing my words printed in a book," addressing the magnitude of self-doubt that can grow into self-deceit and disabling fear if not given voice, a platform to be heard, and an audience. Taken whole, the poems are an encapsulation of the ways society defines otherness, from the perspective of a gay Black poet who calls himself "a s...Log In or Sign Up to Read More