POETRY

In the Language of My Captor

by Shane McCrae
Wesleyan Univ. Feb. 2017. 108p. ISBN 9780819577115. $22.75; ebk. ISBN 9780819577139. POETRY
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In his award-winning The Animal Too Big To Kill, McCrae explored the conundrum of being a half-black man raised by white supremacists, and his new work again confronts the crosscurrents of race and history. Whether he's presenting a black man exhibited behind bars who's wiser than the desperate white zookeeper, a mulatto boy adopted by Jefferson Davis, or acclaimed performer Banjo Yes, who reflects angrily on how white culture shaped his life and career, McCrae delivers sharp scenarios and cool, forthright language. The core concern is freedom: says Banjo, "you think it's/ making decisions other folks won't like/ Listen I do a thing to piss a white man off// I'm bound to that man's will."
VERDICT Unsettling and approachable for a wide audience.
Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Apr 15, 2017
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