This book is amazing on so many levels.
Poetically, it stands almost alone as an example of relationships, alienation, microaggressions, and racism in the 21st century US.
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| Quote from Citizen |
A friend recommended this book to me over the break--as we were all freshly cut wide open from the Ferguson coverage, revealing local discussions and ongoing murder of POC from any age and area in the US.
I finally got a hold of it via the library and read it in earnest.
The descriptions of racial microaggressions in 2nd person narrative poetry are so powerful I was shaking as I read them.
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| Quote from Citizen |
Each page is condensed emotion, reaction and analysis of a lifetime of experiencing relationships that bite while smiling. Her poetry describes how inescapable it is to be a POC in the US at this time and place. The relentless assault upon our senses of 21st century lynchings and their impact the mental health, awareness and identity of POC is explicated in detail. This explication is via emotions, images and the powerful poetic voice of Ms. Rankine.
I don't read many books of poetry, nor do I often recommend them. However, this work should be standard reading for any HS senior, or 1st year college students. Anyone interested in Race in the US should read this book. It gets at the heart of what it feels like to live in the US at this time as a POC.
Read this book.
Order this book for your library.
Tell others about this book.
