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Power Lines: A Decade of Poetry from Chicago's Guild Complex

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This one is not to be missed. If you love poetry you will love this combination of Pulitzer Prize Winners and Saloon Poets. A hundred poets are featured here, each with a distinct voice. This anthology shows why Chicago is America's poetry capital. With work by local artists such as Marvin Tate, Cincy Salach, and Quraysh Ali Lansana, jumbled in together with national names such as Wanda Coleman, Amiri Baraka and Gwendolyn Brooks, what results is a read that doesn't allow you to put the book down. This is not your mother's poetry; this is modern, 21st century, powerful, important work. These are the poems your grandchildren will be studying in the future American Poetry textbooks. This volume represents all races, creeds and colors, all social backgrounds, all variety of life spiced together with a climax by Christopher Stewart. Even if you don't like poetry you will like Power Lines. This book should become standard reading for all contemporary poetry courses. The poets in this book are our stars of today and the stars of tomorrow. There isn't a single poem in this anthology that doens't deserve a standing ovation. It speaks of Chicago and of America. It speaks of our time and the changing times. It speaks with a voice so profound it can not be ignored. I, personally, could not put it down until I reached the final poem, Larry Winfield's Any Day In June. Then I had to read it again to convince myself a poetry book could be that entertaining. I have read thousands of books and this is the freshest thing I have seen in years. My eyes are wide open to see what Tia Chucha Press is going to do next.