For the Confederate Dead

I have a special fondness for books which give me smart, researched insight into worlds / places / experiences with which I'm only slightly familiar. I also have a special fondness for writers who are willing to open themselves up, let the reader see behind the curtain a little bit. With "For the Confederate Dead," poet Kevin Young satisifies both these needs, and then some. Young's work is steeped in research and succeeds in giving voices to previously the unheard / under-heard stories of black America before, during and after the Civil War. The poems he has constructed are limber and muscular, fresh. They don't position these stories in the context of a heavy, velveted history, but rather allows them to exist seemingly in the present -- giving the reader the freedom to imagine what it was like to be there, to be that person, without feeling like they need a degree in history to get it right. Throughout the book, Young also weaves the stories of his own life -- including a beautiful, celebratory poem about the passing of Chicago's great poet Gwendolyn Brooks (this poem starts the book) and a series of poems following Young as he comes to grips with the death of a close friend (these poems close the book). Young is an extremely gifted poet, who is nonetheless still exploring this world and his talent. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to future books.

The lyricism of this short volume of poetry will stay with you long after you finish. You'll find yourself revisiting these poems often.