Sincerest gratitude to the people associated with the publications in which most of the poems in this collection first appeared (sometimes in different versions):

art/life; The Beloit Poetry Journal; The Bloomsbury Review; Callaloo; Chelsea; Controlled Burn; Crab Orchard Review; failbetter.com; 5 am; in-context. com; Indiana Review; Harvard Review; The Journal; Luna; New Orleans Review; Paterson Literary Review; The Pittsburgh Quarterly; Ploughshares; Red Brick Review; River City; The Southern Review; Wind; Xavier Review.

“Florida” appeared in the 1999 Chester H. Jones Foundation Anthology of National Competition Winners.

“For Paul Robeson” also appeared in the 1999 Cave Canem Anthology.

“The Things-No-One-Knows Blues” also appeared in the 2000 Cave Canem Anthology.

“Heartthrob” was originally published as “Heroic Sestina” in The Bloomsbury Review.

“For Robert Hayden,” “Squawk,” and “For Paul Robeson” also appeared in Speak the Truth to the People, NOMMO Literary Anthology.

Deepest love and appreciation to Yona Harvey and Joel Dias Porter (aka DJ Renegade) for their indispensable scrutiny and support during the completion of this manuscript; and to Shara McCallum for her unwavering friendship and encouragement. Thanks also to the writing communities of Cave Canem and the NOMMO Literary Society of New Orleans. Finally, a special thanks goes to Cornelius Eady for selecting this manuscript.