“Finally, a gathering of words that fiercely speaks to what it truly means to grow up African American in Appalachia. These are not stories of those of us transplanted conveniently into the territory for whatever reason. These poem-stories are from a native Affrilachian heart, more specifically, from the man who first created the word in order to define and not be rendered invisible. This personal poetic narrative is a historic, valuable offering, one man’s unapologetic truth, granting us an eagle-eye view into what it means to be young, Black, artistic, and male in America as one century comes to an end and another begins. His poetry looks you in the eye, in plain-spoken unembellished, heartfelt language. Anyone who knows about the human heart and human nature can read it.”—Nikky Finney, author of Head Off & Split, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry