Assignment: take the often controversial subject of Ebonics, or “African American Vernacular English” as it is better known to academics. Explicate in the form of prose poems which utilize as their framework a series of dances (Cakewalk, Electric Slide, Mambo). Spike with the truth of race in the American landscape, and garnish with a companion collection of free verse poems encompassing themes of interracial family life, and an imagined interview with Pocahontas.

Impossible? Read this book, an accomplished writer’s very first collection of poetry.