Thieves of Paradise

"I love this body, this
solo & ragtime jubilee
behind the left nipple,
because I know I was born
to wear out at least
one hundred angels."

(from "Anodyne" by Komunyakaa, one of my favorites and included in this collection)

Yusef Komunyakaa has long been one of my favorite poets, and revisiting this collection brought me back to all of the reasons why. This isn't my favorite of his only because so many of the poems are entrenched in nuances and moments from history that I'm not all that familiar with, though perhaps I should be, but even in those poems, his language and description bring a power to every page turned. My favorites here are the poems built from blues music and jazz rhythms and blues and jazz history--all of which I am very show more familiar with--and the words in these poems in particular croon from the page like the best blues music.

For readers coming into this one, I'd just encourage you to keep going if at first you're put off by the historical elements. This collection gets better and better as it unfolds, but it's worth noting that the history is front-loaded as if the reader moves into a journey through time. It's a more than worthwhile journey to take. show less

As you read the poetry one can almost be there within the verses.