June Jordan ed. by Jan Heller Levi and Christoph Keller
RaveBad FormA truly powerful collection of Jordan’s work, The Essential June Jordan is a nuanced and emotional exploration of race, sexuality and politics. The collection feels deeply personal and reflective; from June Jordan’s opening quote and series of photographs, through to the end which concludes with an afterword by poet Jericho Brown and explanations of each snapshot. Featuring poems from throughout her career, it is a collection that varies greatly whether in its poetic structure or the poetry’s wide ranging subject matter ... In trying to understand the poems and decide on a definitive message, Jordan’s poetry asks questions of us, they urge us to consider how life and society operates ... Despite the anger and the sadness, the collection is also filled with love, a theme that June Jordan writes aptly about through her work as a love poet ... I am in awe of June Jordan’s work and I wholeheartedly would recommend this collection to any poetry lover and anyone who is willing to give poetry a try. It is beautifully curated and a testament to the works that Jordan published during her life.
