J Whit just wants to escape - from his father’s disappointment and the confines of school. He wants to burst through these restrictions and launch his career. In a chance connection, he befriends a new kid from the Dayton, Ohio, Paul Dunbar, and as outsiders, they bond over a love of poetry. Along with J Whit’s childhood friend, Allie, they plan a special show to celebrate Riley’s mother and her love of spirit raps, and introduce Dunbar to a new audience. Racial division threatens their plans, but the friends’ mutual respect and common purpose results in an epic social media poetry slam with a surprise twist. Actual excerpts from the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley and Paul Laurence Dunbar are integrated into this innovative novel that draws out the threads of the past and weaves them into a contemporary tapestry of friendship, reconciliation, and hope.