4 of 5 stars

A good, if at times uneven, collection of poetry. There are several standout pieces, including the one she gave at Biden’s inaugural that knocked it out of the park (and off the planet it was so good). Her cadence, word choice, word play, and themes are exciting, relevant, and potent. The pieces I loved from this collection were: “Vale of the Shadow of Death or EXTRA! EXTRA! REAL ALL ABOUT IT!”, “_ _ _ _ _[GATED]”, “FURY & FAITH”, “MONOMYTH”, and, of course, “THE HILL WE CLIMB”.

I really liked the stanza from “_ _ _ _ _[GATED]": “For what does the Karen carry but her dwindling power, dying & desperate? Dangerous & dangling like a gun hung from a tongue?”

I also like this from “FURY & FAITH”: “Our goal is never revenge, just restoration. / Not dominance, just dignity. / Not fear, just freedom. / Just justice.”