NONFICTION

The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon

by Willie Perdomo

Penguin. (Penguin Poets). 2014. 80p. ISBN 9780143125235. pap. $18. POETRY

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Winner of the PEN Beyond Margins Award, Perdomo portrays percussionist Shorty Bon Bon in charged, edgy poems that have all the shimmer and reverberance of a dance hall, moving from his live studio recordings with a 1970s descarga band, to the smoky passion between him and a singer named Rose, and beyond. "Then I/ Shook all the safety from their style," says Shorty Bon Bon of his band mates. So does Perdomo.—BH

Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Apr 15, 2014

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