Refuse to Disappear

by Tara Betts

Poetry. African & African American Studies. Women's Studies.

Genres: Poetry

74 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2022

About the author

Tara Betts is the author of the REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR, BREAK THE HABIT, ARC AND HUE, and the chapbooks 7 x 7: kwansabas, and the THE GREATEST!: AN HOMAGE TO MUHAMMAD ALI. She is a Cave Canem fellow and holds an MFA from New England College and a Ph.D. from Binghamton University.

Reviews

[Shyanne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted lyric poetry!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Pac-Man Insists:
No Sweating in High Heels

Some women cannot be cornered
when choices are run, bite, or die.
So many women chased by ghosts
housed by a central cell rooted
in every scenario. Only occasional
fruit bounces its bright sugar past
too quickly. Only the most basic
simple calories sustain repetitive
tasks, because women do tedium
well, but they cannot gain weight.
Despite the stalking and killing her
kind, or consumption that shrinks
others like her to fleeting blip, she
applies eye shadow and lipstick,
fixes a bow like a rose on her head,
runs like hell behind walls through
sharp turns and tunnels, while not
sweating and wearing high heels.

[Bonita · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is obvious this poet has a long-standing affair with the music and artists of the hip-hop era. The poems in Refuse to Disappear are written in a lush language that connects the music of the hip hop era to the environment of Black and Brown people living in America.