Review by Booklist Review
In the introduction to his highly anticipated new book, the Pulitzer Prize--winning Pardlo ruminates that "it is impossible for me to change my mind without examining the entire ecosystem of ideas that uphold my worldview." The stunning poems that follow explore many aspects of memory, identity, Black history, popular culture, and social justice. The poet is adept at wordplay, employing cultural references and varied structures, often ingeniously engaging multiple topics and succinctly connecting them. Each poem demands to be read on a granular level, thinking deeply about the layers presented. In "Tall Poppies," the through line from ancient Rome to the Opium Wars to the modern Oxycontin crisis to the Rwandan genocide to modern-day Israel is tightly and concisely illustrated. Pardlo's use of form is clever, blending seamlessly throughout the book. The introductory group of poems in the section entitled "The Essay on Faith" is presented as a classical argument. "Know Yourselves" is a conversation with disparate parts of the same person. Form, lyricism, and imagery are expertly presented, and the result is a compelling, cohesive collection addressing timely topics. A beautiful addition to Pardlo's already impressive oeuvre.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The contemplative latest from Pulitzer winner Pardlo (for Digest) explores fear as the basis for legal judgment. As Pardlo explains in the introduction, the fear-driven imaginings used by white men to condemn those accused in the Salem witch trials have been similarly employed against nonwhite people from America's colonial era to the present. Beginning the collection with a long poem in sections titled "The Essay on Faith," which is structured like a legal argument the speaker is having with himself, Pardlo lays bare the flimsy foundations of America's justice system: "Dream, the via negativa that makes freedom ring. It/ is evidence of things not seen." Other entries play on this concept of unseen evidence, such as "Sonnet," which reproduces a table from a study of racial biases in the medical field. The title poem evokes the language of police perpetrators of violence against people of color to show how fear of the racialized "other" can be twisted to fit any legally excusable context: "Declares that on Harvest last, the Devil in the shape of a black man/ had the most aggressive face/ that his eyes were bugging out." With characteristic intelligence, Pardlo confronts uncomfortable and enduring truths. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Pulitzer Prize winner Pardlo (Digest) explores the early American judicial practice that allowed for "spectral evidence," testimony in which witnesses described being harmed by malevolent spirits. Pardlo posits that the same fear-based imaginings that convicted the accused in the Salem witch trials are used today to rationalize hate and violence directed toward women, Black and Indigenous peoples, and others who challenge patriarchy and privilege. For Pardlo, police officers' recorded statements characterizing Black individuals as looking like demons, with expressionless, bulgy eyes, are not much different from those put forth in Salem courtrooms. The poem "Spectral Evidence" opens with chillingly similar wording: "Declares that on Harvest last, the Devil in the shape of a black man / had the most aggressive face / that his eyes were bugging out." As a narrator, Pardlo offers a varied and engaging delivery, peppered with gentle exclamations and well-rendered snippets of conversations. It is an artifice-free presentation that is tailored to the content and creates the perfect backdrop for Pardlo's unapologetic, unsparing analysis. VERDICT An intricate and richly varied collection that reveals new insight with every poem that's read. Pardlo stuns with this relentless examination of race, prejudice, and fear.--Sarah Hashimoto
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