Kwansaba: a non-rhyming poetry form based on Kwanzaa (the African American holiday that celebrates seven principles): seven lines, seven words per line, with no word other than proper nouns containing more than seven letters. In the case of Van Garrett’s new collection, running the gamut from juke joints, haircuts, and being shot; to a series of homages to Jayne Cortez.

james brown 

like fire biting a powder keg’s cord 
or african drums talking loudly through beats 
james brown jolts and jukes like hornets 
that swarm over macon bayous and farms 
seeing life in fast-paced musical scales 
that make people want to shuffle on 
decks with sweat dropped on up-beats