“To read Alan King’s “Crooked Smiling Light” is to get an honest take on what it means to be a grown ass Black man in a world with little love, or even use, for grown ass Black men. In this latest collection, King riffs on such varied themes as fatherhood and family, poetry and ambition, sex and sacrifice, with the same insight and style, the same blue candor, longtime readers have come to expect. Fans of “Drift” and “Point Blank” will find in this volume a wonderful addition to the King cannon. New readers will wonder why nobody has pulled their coat until now.”
— John Murillo, author of “Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry”
“Poetry is a context for our wounds. And what if a wound becomes courage; and what if that courage becomes language, and then language starts shining—vindicating everything, making our lives clear and beautiful in the telling. A favorite poet, Alan King, shows us how to do it—in his stunning new book.”
— Grace Cavalieri, Maryland Poet Laureate
Alan King’s new collection, “Crooked Smiling Light,” is now available from Plan B Press. Watch the trailer, then order your copy.