LOOM is
concerned with the history of our divided country, a violent division
preceding civil war and by now embedded in our cultural landscape.
The non-sentimental poems are cool, clear and literal. They are
narrated by white Americans who position themselves in relation to
“slave power” and cotton as “lords of the loom” and “lords
of the lash”. Boston is central to the story, and the cities of
Lawrence and Lowell. It’s a valuable collection, as it puts the
focus back on the white male where the distortion of vision begins
and is occasionally resolved.
—Fanny
Howe, winner of the Ruth Lily Poetry Prize and National Book
Award Finalist
Kevin who has
roots in Somerville, Mass., was a founding editor of COMPOST
magazine, and currently publishes spoKe magazine. He is a professor
of Global Development at Boston University.
