KWANSABAS AND OTHER POEMS

A volume of poems primarily written in the Kwansaba style examines racism and inequity in America.

As Thedford explains in the foreword, Kwansaba is an African American form of praise poetry that honors Kwanzaa. It consists of poems seven lines long, with seven words in each line. Each word in the piece contains seven or fewer letters. The first section is titled “Black Girl Magic” and features multiple poems about various beauty queens who have won titles like Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss America, and Miss Teen USA. These poems are written in an upbeat, encouraging way, as if spoken by the contestants themselves. “Play the hand life has dealt you. / You don’t have cards; become the dealer. / If you aren’t that, become the house” reads “Toni-Ann Singh: Miss World.” The second section, “In Memory Of,” remembers figures like Anthony Hill, an unarmed and mentally ill Air Force veteran killed by a police officer. “The Squad” section celebrates influential Black, Indigenous, and people of color political figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. In the “Other Poems” section, Thedford diverts at times from the Kwansaba structure. “Driving While Black” details a tense traffic stop. The volume concludes with a poem about Rihanna and Chris Brown, a former celebrity couple mired in domestic violence. This collection is a poignant reflection of the times readers live in. A poem recognizing climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg asserts: “Change is coming; a change has begun. / Earth will be saved by the young.” But the rhyming scheme sometimes weakens what could be very powerful poems about deeply important subjects. For example, on the 2019 mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, the author writes: “A racist gunman walked into a Walmart. / He shot and killed people with carts.” And a piece about activism includes this passage: “Taking a knee, so he can be. / Taking a knee, strong as a tree.” The poems in which Thedford uses free verse are much more effective at relaying America’s current state of discrimination and injustice.

A timely, moving, but uneven collection of social justice–themed poetry.