Poetry Book Reviews

In Gimme Liberty I Can Smell! (autonomy for ordinary personage), poet J. Flaherty kicks down the doors of poetical convention and rattles off a diatribe of thoughtful verse and bold demands that is difficult to put down.

A self-professed neobeat poet, there are certainly jazzy echoes of Kerouac and Corso in this collection, with urban references wildly blended with classical mythos, juxtaposing intensity and some timeless goofiness. While the topics of the poetry vary greatly, the voice is clear and consistent – he is a bold observer keeping his eyes peeled for the mystery and beauty of the world. […]

Ugandan born poet Ssemanda casts light on critical issues that we all need to explore in the collection of personal, political, and perceptive works, Colored Armpits: Poems for Social Justice.

Ssemanda’s book of verse is divided in three sections – “The Mzungu,” “The Armpits,” and “The African African.” Each touches on different aspects of the human condition, and particularly, the condition of African and other third world people in connection or confrontation with first world denizens and value systems.

Mzungu is the African language term used in Uganda and elsewhere to designate white people – whether they be colonialists, […]