i have scars and blisters on my fingers keys between my fingers instead of her fingers and i have blisters on my scars
4/11/2023
Sonia Skolnik is writer born and raised in Washington D.C. She is a freshman at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, studying in the Department of Cinematic and Literary Arts & Media Production. Skolnik is an aspiring author, playwright, and poet, and has had a love of writing since the age of seven. She primarily works with various forms of poetry and prose, but she is interested in cinematography and photography, as well. Her publications include a nonfiction article entitled “History Repeats Itself” in the Washington Jewish Week. More of Skolnik’s work can be found featured in upcoming showcases at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and at other such events.
spring peepers wake calling louder than trucks calling wilder than wind calling awake, peepers spring
4/5/2023
Ingrid Bruck grows wildflowers, makes jam and writes poetry. A public library director by profession, now retired, she serves as a reader/writer for Between These Shores Books. She writes a monthly BTS column, “Pearl Diving,” with online writer resources. Four of her poems were Pushcart nominees, and two nominees for Best of the Net. Bruck has a chapbook, entitled Finding Stella Maris (Flutter Press). Some work also appears in BTSA, The Heron’s Nest, Failed Haiku, Verse-Virtual, Sanctuary Magazine, Spillwords, The Skinny Poetry Journal and Rat’s Ass Review. Embrace more of Bruck’s poetry at www.ingridbruck.com.
Lovely lilies touch her hair, When She Is Bleeding, When She Is Crying, When Her hair touches lovely lilies.
Her tears water lovely lilies, Flooding Droplets Of Guilt, Flooding Regretful Past Choices, Flooding Her, tears water lovely lilies.
Her fingers pollinate lovely lilies, Gifting Presents Of Peace, Gifting No More Trauma, Gifted. Her fingers pollinate lovely lilies.
Life can now chase the lovely lilies, And Old Vengeful Vines, And Old Rampant Roots, And Now the lovely lilies can chase life.
—–
Unexpected Motherhood
I’m yet a mother, yet a child I Ought To Know, I Ought To Understand, I Am yet a child, yet a mother.
—–
Not So Hollow Bones
I shall become hollow bones, Fluids Empty, Notions Gone, Fluids revealing pride, Emotions broken, Fluids. Hollow bones, I shall become.
The hollow bones warn me not to speak I’m only Small Sand, I’m A Wandering Warrior, I’m Not to speak, I warn the hollow bones.
And now am I a hollow bone forever? Perhaps I’ll Break, Or Perhaps I’ll Grow, Although Perhaps I am a hollow bone, now and forever.
3/28/2023
Anouk Schneider is a writer and filmmaker at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, known for its prestigious art programs. Schneider has been writing stories since the moment she understood how, and spent the first years of her life in Paris, surrounded by art and culture. She has been recognized within her art department for a comedy film entitled, “Lost in A Ruff Day” presented in the school film festival, “Awakening.” To be sure, Schneider is also recognized and very much valued here at The Skinny Poetry Nation.
my body is a temple but empty stricken walls violated empty robbed forced barren empty but my body is a temple
3/20/2023
Sabrina Butler is a poet and storyteller based in Washington, DC. She attends Duke Ellington School of the Arts as a part of their exclusive Cinematic Arts and Media Production program (also known as CAMP). Butler enjoys writing about issues that aren’t usually addressed. In the future, she wishes to pursue a career related to Literary Media. For that, and for her talent, the world should be very grateful.
close your eyes and close your mind you don’t need pain you will survive if you close your eyes and close your mind
3/20/2023
Melodel Amdemariam is a student at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. This student writer very much enjoys the wide range of art choices that Ellington makes possible–and finds the school “marvelous.” Moreover, she expresses an interest in being a “full-time poet forever, in order to break walls and build bridges,” with her writing gifts. All of us at TSPN wish her nothing but success on that noble journey.
She is a rose Pricked Prodded Clipped Cut Pricked Picked Planted Grown Pricked A rose,she is
~~~
Don’t
Close my door Don’t Let Him In Don’t Look That Way Don’t Close my door
3/20/2023
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Zuri Kenyatte is a dynamic student artist at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She is in the Cinematic Arts And Media Production (CAMP) department. Kenyatte is also a member and former captain of Taratibu Youth Association, a performing arts company based in Mount Rainier, Maryland. She has performed in plays and musicals, but prefers to focus on poetry. For that, and for her talent, the Skinny Poetry Nation is exceedingly glad.
Winter Freezing. Benches, for bed, Freezing metal. No breakfast, Freezing Winter
3/18/2023
Ela Albrecht is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School in Hartland, Wisconsin. Albrecht found out about the “Skinny Poetry Competition” through her creative writing teacher and poet, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen. This student writer enjoys snowboarding and hanging out with her friends in the summer. Some of her future goals include going to Arizona State University. While Albrecht is not sure what she “wants to be when she grows up,” a career in the field of business is of keen interest to her.
Grandpa was Paralyzed. Waist Down. Young Paralyzed. My Dad New-Born. Paralyzed Was Grandpa
3/11.2023
Carson Ketterhagen is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School who plays football and lacrosse. Next year, he will be attending Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) to study electrical distribution–where, no doubt, this promising student writer will continue to excel..
The architect, he set fire to his house; burned burgundy cedar, plans burned, preying problems shattered— burning, the house, he set fire, to his architect
—
Ducts are packed on a Monday night— hiding emergency room tears, hiding true blue news, hiding ducts are packed on a Monday night
—
Dive, for me, a blue pearl, engulfed with wisdom, isolated, engulfed by crystal solutions, engulfed, for me, dive a blue pearl.
3/5/2023
James Norcross is a vibrant and promising student at Arrowhead Union High School. He composes poetry during his school hours and also in his free time. Norcross hopes to pursue some sort of English-related career in the future. All at TSPN wish him best in that very noble endeavor.
Where is my son? Ringing Shells School Sirens Ringing Screaming Bodies Death Ringing Where is my son?
2/9/2023
Ian Callies is a Senior at Arrowhead Union High School, in Hartland, Wisconsin. This student writer has lived in Wisconsin all of his life. Writing has always been an escape for him and a way for him to truly express his feelings. Callies is currently working on becoming a world-class auto technician, in the interest of possibly being able to one day work for a high-end dealership. No doubt, he will be successful in any career of his choice.
Was I too young? Cussing fists violence shouts Cussing smoke alcohol blood Cussing I was too young.
2/9/2023
Evangelia Maxwell is a Junior at Arrowhead Union High School. When she is not writing, this student author very much enjoys playing varsity golf and lacrosse for her noble school. This poem is her second piece this year to be published. To be sure, The Skinny Poetry Nation is very pleased to be a part of both of these very happy events.
Where is he? Blood red glass blue blood baby car-seat gone blood He is where?
2/9/2023
Arrowhead Union High School student, Noah Pfannerstill, enjoys writing about things that truly inspire him, and get him thinking – about his past, his future, and what he can do to improve himself and the lives of others. In his free time, he also enjoys golfing, building LEGOs, hanging out with friends, as well as spending time with his family.
the Fun uncle Taken depression smoking loneliness Taken laughter no longer Taken the Fun uncle
2/9/2023
Writer Addy Moseler is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. She loves volleyball, track, and other outdoor activities. Moseler is very creative, social, and enjoys collaborating with others. This is her first attempt at composing a Skinny and, along with all The Skinny Poetry Nation editors, love how it turned out.
Death leads to ruins War leads to ruins famine leads to ruins lead to death.
2/2/2023
Nathanael Zabel is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. He enjoys hiking, creating digital art, and playing video games with friends. This is his first time composing a Skinny, as well as his first time submitting to The Skinny Poetry Nation. The inspiration for this piece comes from his avid interest in history. For that, the editors of TSPN are very grateful.
Christmas with snow Frigid. Bitter snowflakes creeping, Frigid, presents chocolate laughter, Frigid Snow with Christmas
William Hess 10/5/2022
William Hess is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. He is a varsity athlete in both Hockey and Baseball. This is Hess’s first time competing in a Skinny poetry contest, and he is excited for the opportunity to show the world how much emotion his poems bring. His excitement is only matched by that of The Skinny Poetry Nation.
A car is flipping and screaming anger pain horrified stabbing anger scratched bleeding breathing anger Screaming and flipping in a car.
Trinity Dahl 10/5/2022
Trinity Dahl is a senior at Arrowhead High School. She enjoys writing, hiking, drawing, watching movies, and hanging out with friends and family. This is Dahl’s first effort with skinny poetry and was really proud with the outcome of the piece as a student writer–as is The Skinny Poetry Nation.
Waves of plastic wash ashore destruction bottles straws Hazard destruction dirty damaging tainting destruction Washes ashore, waves of plastic
Alex Sobczak 10/5/2022
Alex Sobczak is a senior at Arrowhead High School. He enjoys his time playing football for Arrowhead, going out on the lake, and being with his friends and family. Sobczak acquired a vision for this poem when he traveled to Florida with his family. He looks forward to a great senior year and hopes to go to college for business and finance.
The red currency Blood spills open wounds Blood Ruby tokens glistening Blood The red currency.
Ana Casper 6/3/2022
Ana Casper is a student-writer and incoming freshman at UW-Milwaukee. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and creating digital art. This is her first time composing a Skinny and The Skinny Poetry Nation is very glad she did.
Death walks forgotten broken wounded dying forgotten. They lay still, forgotten. Death walks.
***
What We Made
The end. Made smoking burning future Made ignorance, unchanging. WE Made The End.
Michael Stadler 6/3/2022
Michael Stadler is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. In his free time, Stadler enjoys camping and spending time with friends. These poems represent his first attempt at writing Skinnys, and he greatly enjoyed the experience. He loves writing poetry and looks forward to writing more in the future.
Toucan Sam loves colorful, circular, fruity cereal. Delicious! ix-nay, oot-fray, oops-lay! Delicious! Follow your nose! Delicious! Toucan Sam loves colorful, circular, fruity cereal.
Luca Schiro 6/3/2022
Luca Schiro is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. This student author loves Disney, eating cheese curds, and watching food reviews on YouTube. Schiro is on the Autism Spectrum, and this first published poem is a good reminder to be kind, reverence the talent in all people, and to celebrate and honor all of our differences.
Author’s note: The Pig Latin phrase ”oot-fray, oops-lay” was Toucan Sam’s strange language in the original commercials. It gave a unique identity to the new cereal “Froot Loops.” It was brilliant marketing and all the kids wanted to learn Pig Latin so they could talk like Toucan Sam.
Caroline Frost is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School, where she enjoys playing lacrosse and field hockey. Frost is also part of Earth Club and is passionate about the environment, which helped inspire this piece. She loves how poetry allows her to express complicated emotions in a concise way.
I flinch. Pain. Bloody round fist. Pain, waiting for more pain I flinch.
Emma Schwenker 6/3/2022
Emma Schwenker is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School and enjoyed writing Skinnys. Schwenker likes to play soccer and get together with her friends in her free time. This is her first time composing Skinnys. Relatedly, she reports that she is “glad when she considers the reach of her work,” especially in the context of how her readers may relate to her poetry.
time Passes through the flame. Passes my skin and Passes time.
Brooke Hafferman 6/3/2022
Brooke Hafferman is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. She loves dancing and spending time with friends and family. This was her first time composing a Skinny. As she found it to be a creative challenge, Hafferman also really enjoyed how the finished product turned out (as does The Skinny Poetry Nation).
Another GUNshot kids Hide Door Shut kids Tremble Curtains Closed kids Another GUNshot
Cam Prescott 6/3/2022
Cam Prescott is a rising senior at Arrowhead Union High School. Her favorite classes have been the writing classes that she took her junior year. She likes to hang out with friends and she works (outside of Arrowhead), ever-industrious, to edify both her academic and professional goals. Note: the author wishes readers to know that this piece was not based on her personal experiences.
The voice over the telecom Shots Fired, No Police, Shots Parents Run, Cries Shots The voice over the telecom
Jura Gerlach 6/3/2022
This Skinny, by Jura Gerlach, regards the tragic shooting that took place on May 24th of 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Gerlach, an avid cyclist from Wisconsin, recently graduated from Arrowhead Union High School. He plans to continue racing his beloved bike in college, as he pursues a degree in business.
i call my family for dinner, and eat an unattended fry, eat a child’s sandwich; eat, and i call my family for dinner.
Em Hollern 1/2022
Em Hollern is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. Hollern has been writing fiction as a hobby for three years. She enjoys composing poetry as either a serious creative outlet, or just for fun.
Paper thin kids. Plain. Not hungry but Plain and lacking depth. Plain kids, paper thin.
Max Rebella 1/2022
Max Rebella is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. He enjoys skiing, track, reading, and hanging out with friends. This was Rebella’s first attempt at composing a Skinny and, like TSPJ, he is extremely happy with how it turned out.
A Child I was Child Crayons Drawing Laughing Child No Don’t Touch Child, I was a Child.
Brishanna Malysa 1/2022
Brishanna Malysa, whose nickname is “Bri,” is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. She likes to write in her free time and she enjoyed composing a Skinny. Malysa likes to write about more serious topics and this poem is powerful evidence of that fact.
The man in the moon Smiles, watching bats fly, Smiles, stars crossing him, Smiles, The man in the moon.
Caitlyn Klopp 1/2022
Caitlyn Klopp is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. She enjoys baking, reading, and cheerleading. Klopp had never tried writing a Skinny before this, but she immensely enjoyed the process. TSPJ immensely enjoys the confection of her composition.
The bodies drop. Falling bodies, bullets flying, Falling bombs, exploding corpses, Falling The bodies drop.
Riley Rogers 1/2022
Riley Rogers is a junior at Arrowhead Union High School. He enjoys getting out and driving around with friends and family, along with playing some tennis in the summer. Rogers had never written a Skinny before, but found it an interesting challenge. TSPJ greatly appreciates his creative efforts.
Gone too fast Dad breathe no screams Dad gasps death gone Dad gone too fast
Nathan Goodreau 1/2022 ______________________
Nathan Goodreau is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. This poem is about his dad’s passing (about which, TSPJ extends its sincere condolences). Goodreau enjoys working on diesel trucks for recreation, as well as in the automotive industry. This was his “first go” at a Skinny and, like him, all of us at the journal are very impressed with how it turned out.
Clocking into work Long Sauce Cheese Toppings Long Wrap Cashier Dishes Long Clocking into work
Chandler Maniscalco 1/2022 ______________________
Chandler Maniscalco is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. In his free time, he likes to lift weights, play guitar and cook. He wrote this poem simply about his regular work shift and it was my first time writing a Skinny. TSPJ is happy to share this authentic picture, one noble slice of his life.
Was she breaking? Cancer crawled spread wandered. Cancer surging through her Cancer. She was breaking.
Sara Low 1/2022 ______________________
Sara Low is a student-writer and junior at Arrowhead Union High School. This is Low’s first time composing a Skinny and has let the journal know that she “really enjoyed learning the process.” To be sure, TSPJ has also “really enjoyed” her debut Skinny and is honored to share it with the world.
You were a boy Young Happy Small Naive Young Scared Drowned Alone Young You were a boy.
Onesti Ekholm 1/2022 ______________________
Onesti Ekholm is a junior at Arrowhead Union Highschool. She loves watching movies, reading, and most of all writing. Ekholm has always loved composing poems in her free time, and she especially enjoys writing Skinnys because of their accessibility.
We Starve Crumbling Pastries Falling Empty Crumbling Stay Afloat Kids Crumbling We Starve
Jack Morrow 1/2022 ______________________
Jack Morrow is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. In his free time, he loves to ski, lift weights, and embark upon adventures with his friends. Morrow is thrilled (as is TSPJ) with the composition of his first Skinny about child hunger affecting children all over the world.
School could care less About Anxiety Depression Fatigue About Workload Poverty Bullying. About Less, School could care
Christian Carter 1/2022 ______________________
Christian Carter is a senior at Arrowhead Union High School. He enjoys playing tennis, basketball, and performing in the AHS Broadway Company. This is his first time writing a Skinny and TSPJ, much like this student author, is ecstatic at how it turned out.
lobster pots, harvesting glop lost in storm glop sinking in sea glop harvesting lobster pots
Ingrid Bruck 1/15/2022 ______________________
Ingrid Bruck lives in Pennsylvania Amish country, a landscape that inhabits her poetry. She’s a retired library director with a passion for short forms and poetry. Some of her current work appears in Failed Haiku, Verse-Virtual and Heron’s Nest. Embrace more of Bruck’s poetry at www.ingridbruck.com. ______________________
Ingrid Bruck lives in Pennsylvania Amish country, a landscape that inhabits her poetry. She’s a retired library director with a passion for short forms and poetry. Some of her current work appears in Failed Haiku, Verse-Virtual and Heron’s Nest. Embrace more of Bruck’s poetry at www.ingridbruck.com. ______________________
Once winter howled at the wolf as she Followed Ridgelines Matted Fur Followed My Evening Walks Followed As one she-wolf howled at the winter.
Carol Parris Krauss 12/11/2021 ______________________
Carol Parris Krauss’ poems are visual and New Southern. Her work can be found in a variety of journals such as The South Carolina Review, Story South, Broadkill Review, and Black Bough. She was honored to be recognized as a Best New Poet by the University of Virginia Press. In 2021, she won the Eastern Shore Writers Association Crossroads Contest. ______________________
Don’t blame me I voted for Trump and changing back change and shoving time back and… I voted for Trump! Don’t blame me for disease or immigrants for immigrants with disease for… don’t Trump me! I voted for blame on Black Lives Matter on Antifa other animals on… Voted Trump for me! I don’t blame the partly built wall the post office or the… I don’t blame me! Trump voted for revenge for winning then revenge for not endless revenge! (Trump don’t blame me, for I voted)
Chad Parenteau 10/15/2021 ______________________
Chad Parenteau hosts Boston’s long-running Stone Soup Poetry series. His work has appeared in journals such as Résonancee, Molecule, Cape Cod Poetry Review, Tell-Tale Inklings, Ibbetson Street, Off The Coast, Nixes Mate Review and Wilderness House Literary Review. He serves as Associate Editor of the online journal Oddball Magazine. His second collection, The Collapsed Bookshelf, was nominated for a Massachusetts Book Award. To learn more of Parenteau’s keenly focused poetry and literary events, go to Chad Parenteau: Poet for Hire. ______________________
I should believe in the interlocking Rings, the symbol of Unity and Values.
Sinking
Diversity
Hair
Protection
Sinking
Texture
Inclusion
Survival
Sinking
I believe in Unity and Values. The symbol of the interlocking Rings should…
Anneka Chambers 7/6/21 ________________________
Anneka Chambers (she/her) is a Black British poet living in London. Anneka’s work can be found in South Bank Poetry, Vine Leaves Press, Dwelling Literary, Superfroots Magazine and other notable publications. In addition to writing, Anneka is a social activist and heads her petition campaigning on behalf of the Windrush Generation in the UK. ________________________
Review by Truth Thomas Editor, The Skinny Poetry Journal
July 6, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
Tony Medina does with apparent ease what most people cannot do at all—prolifically composing fresh, compelling work, both in Spanish and in English. In Death, With Occasional Smiling, his latest collection, he offers readers a moving view of what critical race theory would look like if it took the form of poetry. I make this point, because critical race theory is essentially a documentation of the blues—the social blues of racism that permeates every aspect of American culture. Certainly, the horror of racism, playing out in the lives of Black and Brown people in the United States, is unfettered in its historical and ongoing brutality. Though some folks choose not to see it, Tony Medina is not one of those people. Particularly, in terms of chronicling modern day lynchings, the poems in this volume hit like Mike Tyson in 1985.
“Father, Son Arrested in the Death of…” is a piece that fills the early pages of his full-bodied book with a genealogy of race-based terrorism. The poem references Ahmaud Arbery’s murder in Georgia, though not by name, it speaks to the names of all the murdered—and martyred, so tragically. For those who may not be familiar with the family tree, which embodies, and emboldens, such evil, this poem is a history lesson, that begins with these words:
Racism is an heirloom passed down through Generations like a retrovirus
A rifle handed from father to son Aiming to please some deep-seated heated
Urge to violate rape maim hurt some thing
Like James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, and a multitude of great writers before him, Medina makes it plain that Black life in America is an abnormal normality, a halfway freedom riding, a daily kind of death (although we sometimes laugh to keep our sanity from snapping). Also, much like those notable figures, it’s clear that his work springs forth from a decidedly beautiful mind. In a myriad of forms (eintou, diptychs, triptychs, odes, and elegies) he paints strikingly vivid pictures that are gut wrenching, of worlds he has come to know. These poems are richly informed by the Black Arts Movement and Nuyorican poets—of which, he is a beacon. This is especially true in his politically themed verses. In “After Pelosi’s Dropkick,” his humor and social commentary are protest marches in a pen:
After Pelosi got through with Trump all he could do was spit out some teeth, look cockeyed and confused, swat aimlessly at stars, and mumble, Covfefe, Covfefe, Covfefe. Trump folded like Mumbo Sauce on greasy-ass fries. Covfefe is Russian for “To Cave.” Covfefe is Russian for Rosebud. COVFEFE is Trump’s anti-LGTBQ policy known as Don’t Ask Can’t Spell…
Pelosi laced up her Timbs and STOMPED Trump’s off-white ass into the White House lawn until a wall formed around his toupee. TRUMP CONSIDERS US THE ENEMY. WE CONSIDER HIM THE ENEMA…
There is tremendous range and a theatrical quality in the breadth of Tony Medina’s poetry. This book, that captures many sobering snapshots of early twenty-first century Black life, is no exception. With that in mind, if Broadway ever launches a production based on his catalog of work, it would be wise to fend for a front row seat. However, until that good show opens, Death, With Occasional Smiling, now lighting up the literary stage at Indolent Books, should more than tide over any thoughtful soul in search of a stunning, transformational, artistic experience.
Death, With Occasional Smiling by Tony Medina Indolent Books, paper, 132 pp. $20.00
———————–
Truth Thomas is a singer-songwriter and poet born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Washington, D.C. He studied creative writing at Howard University and earned his MFA in poetry at New England College. His collections include Party of Black, A Day of Presence, Bottle of Life, and Speak Water, winner of the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. His poems have appeared in over 150 publications, including: Poetry Magazine, Ghost Fishing: An Eco-justice Poetry Anthology, Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (A Cave Canem Anthology), and The 100 Best African American Poems (edited by Nikki Giovanni). He is the founder of Cherry Castle Publishing, creator of the “Skinny” poetry form, a former writer-in-residence for the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), and the managing editor of The Skinny Poetry Journal.
The Skinny Poetry Journal (TSPJ) is a literary journal that is primarily dedicated to “The Skinny” poetry form. TSPJ is based in Washington, D.C., and edited by Truth Thomas, the creator of the form (in concert with a team of other D.C.- based. poets). The point of The Skinny, or Skinnys, is to convey a vivid image with as few words as possible. The form generally reflects more serious concerns facing humankind. In that light, as the Tokyo Olympics will soon be upon us, TSPJ is seeking poetry related to every aspect of the games–all the intrigue–all the drama–including its many political and social justice elements.
We are currently accepting submissions. The doors to the submission church will remain open until August 8th, 2021– ending with the game’s closing ceremonies. To submit your Skinnys for publishing consideration, email: theskinnypoetryjournal@gmail.comwith your poem, or poems, copied into the body of your email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted.
Poet Quintin Collins, author of The Dandelion Speaks of Survival: Cherry Castle Publishing, 2021. 66 pages.
The Dandelion Speaks of Survival Poems by Quintin Collins Rosetta Codling, Ph.D.
In short, this is a diverse and uniquely beautiful collection of poetic gems. Beauty transcends diversity. This the lesson of TheDandelion Speaks of Survival. From the bowels of the city’s concrete, a flower…a dandelion…. defies convention and nature to spring forth. It is, simply, beauty triumphing over adversity. This is the message sent to us in Quintin Collins’ poetry collection. He announces, “This is Where You Belong” and it is in Chicago, in Atkins Park, and it is in Chris’ backyard. The concrete summons you in “After the Towers Fell, Black Boys Felt American.” You belong in New York on Baker Street and witness the smoke on Pulaski Avenue. But there are more seeds to be planted in Collins’ poem “Sag.” You lumber, you launch, and you have the security of a safety pin that evolves to become a life preserver in the form of a rope, provided by a teacher.
Things blossom further in Quintin Collin’s poetic bouquet. “The Barber Chair” is an ode that springs from the concrete cracks. This selection is about the ultimate union among men in the traditional barber shop. The fraternity of male kinship springs forth here because “Elsewhere, only a woman/gets this close to your blood.” There are challenges in any given city. There are obstacles in every given city. And there is the drive to defy the known barriers. There, within, is the poetry of Quintin Collins.
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Dr. Rosetta Codling is a freelance literary critic. She has written reviews for the Ama Books, the Manhattan Book Review, the San Francisco Book Review, the Journal of African Literature, Autres Modernites, and Examiner.com. She has obtained scholarships and fellowships from Queens College (NYC), Teachers College/Columbia University (NYC), and the Open University (UK). She retired (in 2006) as a secondary school teacher and Adjunct Professor of English for over 30 years in New York. However, she attends global conferences and continues to write professionally. In addition, she now is an Adjunct Associate Professor of English at Herzing University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Skinny Poetry Nation 