by Donté Clark With style reminiscent of his influences- Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni and Tupac- Donté Clark was named Richmond Poet Laureate for a reason. He is one of the RAW (Richmond Artist and Writers) griots of Richmond, capturing the deep fear, thick joy and every day rhythms of his city, from the old men on the stoop to the boys gathering with their cousins on the corner to their mommas waiting for their babies to come home safe. In "Close Caskets," Donté brings language to the complex trauma of growing up consistently losing loved ones to gun violence while also navigating systemic oppression- he teaches us that "under poverty is a ceiling" and "beneath the boy is hunger." But despite all of the triggers that could lead him to thirst for vengeance, Donté continues to choose life. To choose love. He continues to craft a counter-narrative of resilience and rebirth, breaking cycles of generational trauma, healing himself and readers alike through his powerful storytelling. Donté paints hilarious and heartbreaking portraits of his family and takes us on a tour of his neighborhood, mapping his emotional landscape and memorializing all of his loved ones taken too soon. With this collection, they are inked into our collective memory forever. As one of his fallen friends once prophesied, "keep doin' you, you might be the one that saves lives. Molly Raynor
