John Murillo's second book is a reflective look at the legacy of institutional, accepted violence against Blacks and Latinos and the personal and societal wreckage wrought by long histories of subjugation. A sparrow trapped in a car window evokes a mother battered by a father's fists; a workout at an iron gym recalls a long-ago mentor who pushed the speaker "to become something unbreakable." The presence of these and poetic forbears--Gil Scott-Heron, Yusef Komunyakaa--provide a context for strength in the face of danger and anger. At the heart of the book is a sonnet crown triggered by the shooting deaths of three Brooklyn men that becomes an extended meditation on the history of racial injustice and the notion of payback as a form of justice.
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- Calculated at Checkout
- Author:
- John Murillo
- ISBN 10:
- 1945588470
- Pages:
- 88
- Publisher:
- Four Way Books
- Publication Date:
- March 2, 2020
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Weight:
- 0.35lbs