Saul Williams is a master of rhythm. every page of this poem takes you into its beat, inviting you to it until you feel in tune with it, but that’s somehow not the most impressive thing about this piece of work. It’s themes are heavy and metaphorical, but will leave you feeling impacted no matter how you read it. It’s not often you find it poetry this punchy and far reaching in terms of format and subject. It leaves you emotional and yearning for more
My world was turned upside-down with this book/poem. I have never been so moved by mastery of language. WHAT he says is as beautiful and haunting and true and astonishing as HOW he says it, and that's saying a lot. It sounds unlikely, and maybe I'm biased, but this is the absolute zenith of what poetry can accomplish. To be reread over and over. Not only is the content of this book of personal meaning to me, but it's written with a care and deliberateness that it makes all other poetry I've ever encountered seem EXTRAORDINARILY lazy by comparison...the etymology, phonetic quirks, shape of the letters, historical significance, and PLACEMENT on the page of EVERY SINGLE WORD is meaningful in the fullest. The effect of an entire book written this way is overwhelming, exciting, and altogether transcends the written word AND the spoken word. An unsung masterpiece.