Too Much Midnight

BreakBeat Poets

by Krista Franklin

Krista Franklin draws on Pan African histories, Black Surrealism, Afrofuturism, pop culture, art history, and the historical and present-day micro-to-macro violence inflicted upon Black people and other people of color, working to forge imaginative spaces for radical possibilities and visions of liberation.

Featuring 45 poems, 40 artworks, an author statement and an interview, Too Much Midnight chronicles the intersections between art and life, art and writing, the historical and the speculative, cultural and personal identity, the magical and the mundane.

Genres: Poetry, Art, Race

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2020

About the author

Krista Franklin is a writer and visual artist whose work has appeared in Poetry, The Offing, Black Camera, Copper Nickel, Callaloo, BOMB Magazine, Encyclopedia, Vol. F-K and L-Z, and the anthologies The End of Chiraq: A Literary Mixtape, The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop and Gathering Ground. Her chapbook of poems, Study of Love & Black Body, was published by Willow Books in 2012.

Reviews

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always interested in the intersection of art and literature. This gorgeous poetry collection by Franklin exemplifies the way the arts - visual, auditory, and language all intertwine and influence each other. In an interview with Franklin that is included in the book, Franklin says "Visual art was always a part of my practice, even in my poetry. I always talk about my poetry being in the 'Imagist' tradition. I believe that the most powerful poems are pictures painted with words." The poems in here exemplify this concept - the imagery is so vivid that it made me want to linger as a reader. There are also many references in here to music - for someone more musically literate than I am, I'm sure that this adds another layer to the reading experience.

Much of the art included with the poetry in this collection is collage- and it is stunning. There are several collages in here that refer to Octavia Butler's work as well as one called "Do Androids Dream of How People are Sheep" that particularly spoke to the intersection between art and literature. The idea of layering in collage and layering in the poetry felt cohesive to me - the way images or words are pulled together to create meaning through texture, pattern, and brightness -- it felt like an echo of meaning for me to see the layers in both formats. The other type of visual art in the collection is cyanotype on handmade paper - where you see the echo of an image - the concept of the art being in what you cover and then what you reveal -- it also felt like a perfect complement to her work.

My favorite three poems in the collection were "Black Bullets", I Do What It Do: (Me & Homer Talk Poetry). and Nocturne.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly glorious piece of work. A combination of Franklin’s poetry and photos of her collage art. I bought this in October after obsessively visiting it on Unabridged Books’ shelves after they posted about it early in pandemic times (March or April!). I’ve been reading it off and on ever since. Today I read it through it three times in a row, unable to stop myself from starting over each time. It’s another impressive release from Haymarket Books. Although Franklin is from Ohio, she has spent much of her adult and her publishing life in Chicago. This book is so rife with allusions to other artists from so many mediums—you could spend days cross referencing. But mostly what I want to do is see some of these collages up close and personal. One thing I did wish was that the collages’ titles had been printed on their pages instead of a list in the back.
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Favorite collages included:
Balancing Act
Do Androids Dream of How People Are Sheep?
Elevation
Kindred
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Favorite poems:
It’s The Skin That Tells
Saturday Nights at the Bug Inn 1996
Preface to Twenty-Volume Homicide Note: for Amiri Baraka
Definition of Funk
Black Bullet
Extrapolating Motherhood
It Do What It Do: (Me and Homer Talk Poetry
Tattooing the Motherline
History as Written by the Victors

[Mrs. Carolyn Turcotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical and stunningly supported with Franklin’s art. Words layered upon layers to be pealed back. A gift each read and each new page reveals the power and magical nature of women while celebrating Black women.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before actual paper existed in Europe, all texts were copies on parchment, which was made from sheep skin. So there is a connection between writing and paper with skin. I think that connection informs much of Krista Franklin’s art and poetry. Informed by a love of the Afro-Futurists, but deeply connected to the realities of life in the present, her work feels both real and surreal - a state that certainly must correspond to life in the United States for African Americans. This is a beautiful book, and in trying to recall a book that was as visually beautiful as the poetry it contained, I think of Gordon Parks, whose poems and photography complimented each other so perfectly. Franklin’s work is edgier than his, and at the same time more playful, quick to tap popular culture and the way it gets under our skins. This is a book I will treasure for a long time.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savor each gorgeous poem and it’s accompanying artwork in this collection. Allow the words to steep and the images to inspire. Franklin’s mother-as-creator poems are brilliant celebrations of Black life and every emotion around the creation and birth process of art (or tiny humans). Stunning words!

[Rich Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franklin’s use of collage in both image and verse works at such a high level. Each piece is interesting on its own and together makes new meaning. The poem “Call” was and is such a critical message.

[Elliot]

read for school; unrated

a beautiful collection of poetry & images. forceful & moving.

[Kaleb Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

“After this book, all other language feels weak.”

[KMA Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Spectacular! The artwork, the poetry - all of it. We need more Krista Franklin in the world but I am so thankful for her work that is already here.