In March, I picked up Citizen by Claudia Rankine and found my favorite book of all time. Citizen is full of subtle and blatantly obvious racist encounters the author has with those around her. From a neighbor calling the police on Rankine’s African-American friend calling him “a crazy person” to a white woman discussing the unfair nature of affirmative action, Rankine shares her experiences written in poetic-prose. Her almost conversational writing style is admirable when reading about her life as an African-American woman in the early 21st century.
In April, I will be making my way through The Best American Poetry while I’m still on a poetic high. I’ll be looking for new authors to study and poems that will latch on to my mind and soul.
