I can’t fully encapsulate the emotions I had reading this collection and how thankful I am to FSG, MCD, Netgalley, and most importantly Roya Marsh.

When I say I want authenticity, this is what I mean. When I say I want something bold, this is what I mean. Marsh doesn’t hold back and doesn’t expect the reader to either. It’s a collection that has just as much bark as it does bite and demands you listen. The level of lyricism is insane. Truly encompassing all things black. Black existence, black pain, black women, black pride, black identity, black reckoning! This is one of those collections you just simply need to pick up and then tell a friend to get a copy too.

I felt rage, I felt community, I felt liberation, and I felt seen. These poems are both a call out to violence against the black body and spirit, as well as an homage to culture, to hip hop, to black women, to black joy, to revolution, to collective action! I’m truly excited to see more readers pick this one up.