In his third poetry collection following “Boy Kant You Read!” and “Eating ‘Round the Toilet Stool,” Drummond’s muse is the world at its worst, the mind most tainted, and humanity’s horrors in the absence of hope. “Mother, // I’ve been bad before // but never this bad,” he writes in “Final Goodbye,” which explores the speaker’s suicidal mental state, but also the role society has in creating toxic conditions: “You wonder who it was // who stuck the gun in my hand // and showed me how to wave.” Though Drummond’s poems speak to narratives of separate individuals, like the “Down Home Girl” too young to know the connection between her spirited dancing and what the “‘Men-folk’ crave,” they together illuminate a broader shared experience.

While the provocative cover suggests content of a fantastical evil, Drummond’s poetry is rooted in the sociological issues that continue to roil our world, like toxic masculinity, misogyny, racism, and poverty. “Down Home Girl,” and “Lady Dee,” for example, express the loss of sanity and innocence women experience as a result of sexual violence, while “Cotton Snow Flying,” and “Black Lines,” offer insightful commentary on the damaging effects of racism: “Black marks filling // White paper // no meaning, really [...] The meaningless dance of dark charcoal // on cotton fields.”

Besides the various forms of social oppression, making art is also a source of pain, both existential and personal. The collection’s first poem questions poetry’s validity as a form of art, and in “Foggy,” the speaker remarks “the corners of my mind // folds upon itself and // drifts away // and the world spins on.” Though despairing, Drummond’s verses also offer comfort and catharsis. The injustices, violence, and grief he identifies are those various readers suffer from, and many readers will recognize the pain on the page as their own—or learn from them. Though many of these selections sting, Drummond also offers the relief and freedom of urgent truthtelling.

Takeaway: Pained yet inspired collection that finds catharsis in misery and injustice.

Comparable Titles: Lucille Clifton’s “my dream about the second coming”; Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool”

Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B