“The essays offered in this important collection not only open the heart to feel and be encouraged, they also demand for the ear to hear, to heed, to receive,” writes Mai Der Vang in the foreword to this anthology of essays written by poets of color about their writing practice. Through varied essay forms and strong, idiosyncratic voices, the essays in this collection offer a multitude of lenses through which one can think through issues of craft. The fifteen essays from poets at various stages of their careers include, “On Reading, and Shame” by Sasha Pimentel, “On Writing From Unincorporated Territory” by Craig Santos Perez, and “My Life Is Not a Stereotype Though Sometimes Writing About it Feels That Way” by Melissa Coss Aquino. This anthology aims to share a bonded experience and to learn from one another’s experiences, as Luisa A. Igloria writes in the introduction: “In this collection, we make no claims of presenting any definitive theoretical or other stance. Neither do we offer these essays as prescriptive of certain ways of thinking of craft or of doing things, although in them is expressed a collective wish—that writers of color find ways to gain strength and visibility.”
