A couple of summers ago, Tyehimba Jess spoke about his book leadbelly and writing in general at the community college the next town over for me. Though the book had been out for years by that point, I’d only just picked it up during a seasonal buying binge from Amazon, and was loving every point-of-view swap and key change. The only problem was that I found out about the event a month after it occurred while I was reading myself silly in the college’s air conditioned library. Since missing perfect events, then stumbling onto another opportunity years later is kind of a theme with me, I’m not too worried about getting another chance. For all fans of Lead Belly or poetry (and I hope that covers all the bases for anyone reading this), the book is nothing short of a joy to experience.

Image: Hipstaprint Leadbelly by Steve Snodgrass