Ra Malika Imhotep’s gossypiin, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Ra Malika Imhotep gossypiin Red Hen Press Reviewer: Erica Goss In her new collection gossypiin, Ra Malika Imhotep filters her quest for truth through multiple entities. Ancestors float in and out of these poems, offering stories, guidance, and corrections to commonly held misconceptions regarding the lives and experiences of African-American women. Taking its title partially […]

Amanda Moore’s Requeening, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Amanda Moore Requeening Ecco/HarperCollins Reviewer: Erica Goss “The hive will come to know the new, caged queen. Her scent, alarming at first, will become recognized, comforting.”   —“Requeening” Amanda Moore’s new collection explores the consequences of succession, in beehives and in her own family. “Requeening,” or the process of introducing a new queen to an […]

Julie Danho’s Those Who Keep Arriving, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Julie Danho Those Who Keep Arriving Silverfish Review Press Reviewer: Erica Goss In her debut poetry collection, Julie Danho brings together themes of ancestors, displacement, ethnicity, and marriage. Moving across continents and through relationships, Danho juxtaposes the ordinary against the disquieting, finding her journey through life echoed in the experiences of her parents and grandparents. […]

Ali Black’s If It Heals at All, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Ali Black If It Heals at All Jacar Press Reviewer: Erica Goss The cover of Ali Black’s new book of poems shows a train track disappearing into a tunnel. The phrase “if it heals at all” in red capital letters floats against a crumbling concrete wall opposite the track. Taken by Donald Black, Jr., the […]

Heather Swan’s A Kinship with Ash, Reviewed by Erica Goss

Heather Swan A Kinship with Ash Terrapin Books Reviewer: Erica Goss “A hot wind … // ushers in the end / of the holocene.” These lines from the poem “Heat I” bring us face-to-face with the raw truth at the heart of Heather Swan’s A Kinship with Ash. In a voice detached and devastatingly precise, […]