Good Dress

by Brittany Rogers

Following the tradition of Nikky Finney, Krista Franklin, and Morgan Parker, Good Dress documents the extravagant beauty of Black relationships, language, and community.


In her debut poetry collection, Brittany Rogers explores the audacity of Black Detroit, Black womanhood, class, luxury and materialism, and matrilineage. A nontraditional coming-of-age, Good Dress witnesses a speaker coming into her own autonomy and selfhood as a young adult, reflecting on formative experiences.



With care and incandescent energy, the poems engage with memory, time, interiority, and community. The collection also nudges tenderly toward What does it mean to belong to a person, to a city? Can intimacy and romance be found outside the heteronormative confines of partnership? And in what ways can the pursuit of pleasure be an anchor that returns us to ourselves?

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Adult

91 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Amy Imogene Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasure to read a poetry debut from a Black poet from Detroit. I’m not of Detroit nor Black, but I am Michigan born and raised and the nuances to this layered series of place-poems were a treat for the references I was able to parse out on my own (and many thanks for the added teachings in the final Notes section for the rest).

Rogers has immense talent for navigating the personal with the external. Reflecting on womanhood, queer exploration/repression, the church, complex parental relationships, grief, and Black Americans in Detroit in history and the present… there’s a lot here and Rogers traverses it all with a shockingly few amount of words (she didn’t need any more). Take my clumsy musings here for the sloppy efforts that they are and just stop here and read the collection for yourself, it’s better than I’m able to describe it.

Also, it goes without saying—fantastic collection of prose. Don’t miss this collection! I’m already looking forward to Rogers’ next one.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often that I come across poetry that makes me contemplate such a wide variety of topics: what grievances and guilts linger, how we love what we love, and all the ways a person can move through the world.

GOOD DRESS, the debut poetry collection of Brittany Rogers, is equal parts loving and scathing, exploring childhood memories, manifestations of love, and the tensions between sexuality and religion.

It opens with a bang with “Money,” where a riff on a Cardi B video expands into musings on the true meaning of luxury. In “On Our Third Anniversary,” a gifted charcoal grill becomes a story of missed inheritance, dementia consuming her grandmother’s cooking secrets before they’re known. You’ll find a love letter to a friend in “The Year They Left Everyone to Die,” along with honest meditations on the struggles of motherhood. Across several poems, Rogers revisits her strained relationship with her father and the church.

As a Detroit-born poet, Rogers imbues her work with callbacks to her hometown (the Pistons get a couple shout-outs), from the complicated nostalgia of the Detroit Public Library to mourning the loss of a familiar street. The poem “328 Macomb” touches on the underappreciated history of Elizabeth Denison Forth, a Michigan woman born into slavery who became a landowner and philanthropist.

The collection also advocates for practicing self-love, not in the therapy-speak kind of way but in the raw, honest, vainglorious way that women—especially Black women—are told not to embody. Some poems are tonally reminiscent of Sandra Cisneros, one of my favorite poets. Rogers reclaims the narrative of female sensuality in confessions of sneaking out erotica novels from the library and her stories of conquests that need no justification. As with Cisneros, the voice is unapologetic and all the more beautiful for it.

Like a good album, GOOD DRESS has its refrains, with poems in the shape of self-portraits, therapy forms, and offerings at the altar of Flo Milli. The poet delights in these fresh approaches, with one of the strongest on display in “Good Ground,” a series of associative sections where lines from the end of one part are echoed in the next as the narrator strives to unearth lost family history.

I could list half the poems in this book as favorites (among them “To Tenderness,” “Elegy,” “Throwback Night, Midway Skating Rink”), but that’s just the type of collection GOOD DRESS is—one that deserves to be given vases of sunflowers.

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Emily | bookwhispererem · Rating 4 out of 5]

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬; 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝒯𝒾𝓃 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

[Amber Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is phenomenal. So rich and vast. So much heart and depth and voice. I already know I’ll come back to this one again and again.

[Frehiwet A]

A beautiful ode to Blackness, Detroit, and specifically growing up Black in Detroit (I grew up Black in Philly)

[Jazmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked "money" "I lost my virginity after making a pact 'to become women' with my cousins" and "ode to my mama and 'the purple dress,' circa 1992-1993"

Multigenerational female family relationships as a theme always gonna do it for me

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I received "Good Dress" in the mail this week (thank you Tin House !) , and I thought I would just give it a quick browse and come back to it later. But nope. Brittany Rogers put words to paper that had other plans for me. It pulled me in. I had to consume it at once, and take time with each one.
    This is not just a collection of poems. These poems are novels. Don't tell me otherwise. Each one is so descriptive and packs as much into it as any book I've read. A coming of age collection, a Black Detroit collection, a Black woman collection, a collection exploring relationships outside of the heteronormative. 
   Reflective and informative and personal, I will be returning to this collection again (and again).

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gobsmacked by these poems. I’ve been so seriously using the library lately but I decided three-check November called for a trip to the bookstore. Started browsing in poetry and found myself straight-up reading two thirds of this in one fell swoop. Found a companion book (more soon) and then savored them all week.
.
Here’s the blurb from the back: “[it] “documents the beauty and audacity of Black Detroit, Black womanhood, community, class, luxury, materialism, and matrilineage.” Yup. A window into a person and a place entwined.
.
My favorites are:
—My Father Tried
—The Year They Left Everyone to Die
—Blackout, August 2003, Detroit
—Ol’ Dude at the Gas Station Think He Flirtin’
.
but really I loved the whole thing. I loved all the library poems, the ice cam poems, and all the love letters to her grandmother. I loved the tone, and the succinctness of her imagery—these are not long sprawled out ramblings, she gets *right* to the point.
.
“What is it about the end of the world
makes you think you are owed
an explanation?”

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

When these poems hit, they hit hard. My favorites include "Bedside Baptist", "Elegy for Remembering", "Benediction, Israel Baptist Church", and "Treatment Plan", one of the many poems in this collection that take on the form of some sort of paperwork from a psychiatrist's office.

I think I will remember these lines for awhile:
"My father wept when he saw me in my wedding dress. What is it to love / a man most moved by watching you vow to obey?..."

(Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House Books for this e-arc.)

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOD just so fucking good. elegant & fun & Heart-Wrenching, stunning engagements with history & the contemporary. one of the best debuts I've ever read honestly but kinda to be expected from someone as thoughtful + engaged with other writers and art as Brittany!

[k-os]

Loved this collection (by another queer HS English teacher). An all-out love letter to Detroit. Can’t wait to teach “Detroit Pastoral.”

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will not settle for anything
less than sunflowers. In every room, a vase full
of their ornate faces, bone-straight backs."

Beautiful. Such a vivid collection, with life and love pouring out of every word. It was a slower start at the beginning but by the time I got about a quarter of the way through I was finding something new and fantastic in every poem. Particular favorites were all the therapy form poems, "Good Ground", "Flo Milli Shit", "All the Reasons I've Said Yes", and the final poem which was a perfect ending.

4.5/5

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

from "Upbringing": "I grew a mouth like the grown men in my hood. Bouquet of tattoos / across my shoulders. Where brown hair was, a field of watercolors."

[Dionneg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the picture of the bare footed black woman rocking an afro on the front of the cover! Inside the book, the poems stand on a foundation of creativity and rawness, seasoned with nostalgia that I know well as a native Detroiter.

[Brice Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Tin House for the ARC!

Brittany Rogers’s Good Dress is a wonderful debut collection, sustained by the feeling of end-of-summer reflection—those final days where one is uncertain whether the sun will sweeten or sour memory.

There’s a lot to admire here, particularly because Rogers covers so much thematic ground without the book ever feeling unfocused. Broadly speaking, each of the themes touch on a coming-of-age experience, but they coalesce because the writing seems so rightfully self-assured. We see nostalgia without cliché, and it’s immensely satisfying to follow a speaker who is in the pocket, simultaneously feeling herself while grieving what it took to get to that point.

Poems often live or die based on their turns, and Rogers maintains such enigmatic precision in how she does so, both stylistically and thematically. She clearly has a well-honed skill and a gift, and it feels almost mysterious to watch her pull so many disparate elements into conversation. She dances between archaic forms and register and hip-hop-tinged looseness, and she pivots effortlessly between sensorial descriptions of food and existential abstractions. These are poems that make you want to eat at a cookout before suddenly satiating that hunger with symbolic meaning.

I suspect different readers will gravitate toward different parts of the book, but I love the poems that wrestle with the distance between a public, documented self and a private self. Through repeated interludes from the Detroit Public Library—like an explanation of debt—or therapy-related documentation like “Intake Form,” the speaker presses against the constraints of “official” language, often allowing readers to see the space between a factual explanation and a truthful explanation. To me, these poems encapsulate the book's core.

Good Dress is so thoughtful about the ways society tries to simplify Black women, and Rogers offer the counterpoint of complexity at every turn.

[Ally]

We reach our arms across
the circulation desk and ask
for more than they have given us.

- "Self-Portrait as Detroit Public Library, Franklin Branch"

---

He didn't notice my polished toes / my doe legs smoothed with cocoa butter;
how carefully I shaved;

- "I Lost My Virginity After Making a Pact / 'To Become Women' with My Cousins"

---

She swears she's here to stay,
but the only honesty is death.
She reminds me she'll meet the Lord
one of these days. I don't want Him
to have her. Forgive my blasphemy.
She's where I get my ornery tongue. She is where
I get my everything. You expect me
to give that up? I belong to this line
of daughters; before I was born, her kin.

- "Good Ground"

---

I ordered the Fenty
months before the last birth,
after the miscarriage drug
grief by its mangy neck
and left the remains—leaky, foul,
ruining my clean floor.

I tell myself I earned
the impractical—sex,
sheer panties, splurging—as
I rush to get my purse,
stepping over the bills
pooled at the front door.

- "Flo Milli Shit"

---

The sun nudges the curtains
open, draws me close
enough to kiss her heat.
I put on the lace, midday,
and pose—thigh cocked
over milk-drunk sheets.

- "Flo Milli Shit"

---

once I’m tricked into thinking I’m too old for miniskirts,
the glory of exposed thighs, large hoops? I imagine
my children squinting at old photos proof that I was a woman
_before_ them, thinking in this picture _my mama know she fine._

- "Ode to My Mama and 'The Purple Dress,' circa 1992-1993"

---

I know what they say of the hiss
of vanity, how it holds me
back from heaven. I know also
how grief folds my voice
into its back pocket. Don’t think
me dramatic. People have died
touch-starved, penniless.
I will not settle for anything
less than sunflowers. In every room, a vase full
of their ornate faces, bone-straight backs.
Everything keeping me alive is the most
beautiful.

- "I Am Too Pretty for This"

[Haerlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the tradition of Nikky Finney, Krista Franklin, and Morgan Parker, Good Dress documents the extravagant beauty of Black relationships, language, and community.
In her debut poetry collection, Brittany Rogers explores the audacity of Black Detroit, Black womanhood, class, luxury and materialism, and matrilineage. A nontraditional coming-of-age, Good Dress witnesses a speaker coming into her own autonomy and selfhood as a young adult, reflecting on formative experiences.

With care and incandescent energy, the poems engage with memory, time, interiority, and community. The collection also nudges tenderly toward curiosity: What does it mean to belong to a person, to a city? Can intimacy and romance be found outside the heteronormative confines of partnership? And in what ways can the pursuit of pleasure be an anchor that returns us to ourselves?

This book provides voice to Black women of today. I enjoyed the snippets of life and plan to revisit these verses as I do with the standouts on my favorite mixtapes.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Good Dress is the debut poetry collection from Brittany Rogers which digs into a range of topics, from race and sexuality to generational trauma and religion.

It's not often that a poetry collection comes around and immediately sweeps me off my feet, but Good Dress did just that. I'd even make the argument it's probably the best poetry I've read this year. Each poem is richly poignant and masterfully written, and I often found myself surprised, or deeply moved, or immediately compelled to reread and soak in the words a bit longer. Rogers' voice is unique and clear on the page, the strong through-line that ties each of these poems even more together than their intertwining themes and occasional reference to Detroit. I could list my favorite poems from this collection, but I fear that it would simply end up being the table of contents, so I'll just say this: if you're in the market for an absolutely stellar poetry debut collection, Good Dress is one you won't want to miss!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Good Dress is arguably my favorite poetry collection of 2024. In general, I enjoy poetry as a genre, though I sometimes struggle to understand what the poet is talking about (typically the result of confusing language, oblique references, or convoluted imagery). For me, reading Brittany Rogers' poetry was the opposite experience. What I LOVED about her writing was the way that I could access the meaning and feeling of the poems, even if I wasn't particularly familiar with the subject matter. Rogers' writing style is descriptive, clear, vulnerable, and evocative. The poems, a collective tribute to being a Black woman in Detroit, are told in a particularly creative way, sometimes through library overdue notices, patient intake forms, or confidentiality policies, and I loved this experimental approach to her writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House for my advanced copy. I'm looking forward to reading whatever Brittany Rogers may write in the future!

[genrejourneys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5
(Gifted a copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Good Dress is a strong debut poetry collection from Brittany Rogers and was a pleasure to read.

Thematically rich, Good Dress covers family troubles, murky relationships, local history, and a life attempting to hold steady against rough tides. While this means some ideas can feel initially scattered or, even worse, be compelling enough you wish the book was just that (I adore the running library poems!), they all come together in the end as a portrait of everyday life, with its immediate problems, looming history, and daily surprises. I really would like to see Rogers’ next collection as I feel it would be really easy to keep improving on this one.

Good Dress had a variety of topics but I found it fairly approachable. It would be a good book for even a casual poetry reader.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Killer collection, as strong and sharp as any I’ve read in ages. Black Detroit lives and breathes across these pages and poems, and Brittany Rogers leaves a trail of flames in her wake. Trying to comment on why any particular poem is great always feels (to me) like it cheapens the work a little bit, or requires a full blown essay to dissect themes, style, voice, choices - I don’t have the energy or know-how to do that. But I can say these poems hit exactly right. You know a poem hits right when you read it, nodding to yourself the whole way through, and you find yourself dwelling on a particular turn of phrase or idea that feels especially audacious or raunchy or painful, but more than anything feels true. Everything in here hits like that - sharp as hell, tuned just right. I loved Good Dress straight through. You should read it.

[Joselyn Escobar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut poetry collection offers a profound exploration of what it means to be a Black woman in Detroit. Brittany weaves in elements like overdue notices and intake forms to provide a fresh take on womanhood,community, sexuality, and relationships.​​This experimental approach gives the collection a raw, evocative edge that’s hard to forget. While different readers may connect with various parts of the book, I was particularly drawn to the poems that delve into the contrast between our public selves and private lives. Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House for this advanced copy—I can’t wait to see what Brittany Rogers has in store for us next!

[Courtney Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in a day, but the words still stick with me. Beautiful book of poetry about childhood, family life, and the beauty of Detroit. Anxiously awaiting her next book.
Favorite quotes:
“I want enough coin to relax, to spoil my damn self, to tend to the baby, gasping and rooting, for milk without worrying about ruining my good dress.”

“In some states, sunlight is a myth whispered by folks who are from not there.”

“My father wept when he saw me in my wedding dress. What is it to love a man most moved by watching you vow to obey?”

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always such a treasure to read about places I’m familiar with, and given the Detroit setting, I had plenty to recognize. This is a thoughtfully constructed book of poetry, with an abundance of well-crafted poems and themes. If I had to pick a favorite, it may have been Self-Portrait as Detroit Public Library, Franklin Branch, a cutting commentary on education and literacy funding and policy. Anyway, it’s a strong debut.

Obviously this is a good one for my fellow Michiganders, but also those that love raw, honest poetry.

[Gabriel Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review

An excellent collection of poetry on the topics of race, sexuality, misogyny, abuse, and generational trauma. Rogers poetry is well crafted and accessible for poetry readers of any kind.

My favorite poems are: "Self Portrait as Detroit Public Library, Franklin Branch Library", "Rock The Boat is a Song About Strapping", and "Black Out, August 2003, Detroit."

[Denise Ervin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The person who said Brittany Rogers wrote tf outta Good Dress ain't never lied! This collection is part mirror, part window. The undeniable glimpse into Detroit's audacious blackness is matched by the deep dive into womanhood, spirituality, and sexuality that sparks introspection. This is a book you will read more than once and each time you will discover more about yourself and your place in the world. Good Dress is more than just good... it's inimitable!

[Nuha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Tin House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Good Dress by Brittany Rogers is first, and foremost, a love letter to Detroit, to Black women, to Black love, and to Black girlhood. The poems sear and fall apart like good, tender barbecue, leaving a trail of salty spicy sauces on your palate. The collection titillates, never shying away from uncomfortable topics and vulnerabilities. A pleasure to read and hold.

[angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'll come back and edit this review after pub date and i'm able to add quotes, but ma'am. miss lady. yes and yes. and duh and yes. and of course and yes. and keep going and yes.

excited to witness the growth of this poet. excited to see her uncover a world that i've mostly only seen in my diaries and minds eye.

astounding. clear. precise. a machete creating a path through brush.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection that is at the same time elegant and irreverent. The contrapuntal "I Lost My Virginity After Making a Pact... 'To Become Women' With My Cousins" is a masterpiece. Incredible display of craft throughout the entire manuscript. Highly recommend.

[Kimberly Uhuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so glad this collection made it to my doorstep. The poems are shocking, vibrant. Detroiters will appreciate the attention and respect paid to their hometown. But even those who’ve never been will relate to the images and moods evoked- toughness and vulnerability in equal measure.