honest lyricism to the body of work by people of African descent that began in the eighteenth century in a country that struggles to realize its ideals. Inspired by such heroic voices as Martinique's Aimé Cé saire, Surin brings his Haitian roots to bear on the landscape of America in an epic sweep of incantatory rhythms evoking the enduring spirit of the African Diaspora. The immediacy of his poetry is grounded in his sense of history, as twenty-first century black immigrants come to the U.S. to negotiate race and culture. His delicate unveiling of hurt and courage are the American story in miniature. He is the poet as warrior priest, his work the prophet's homily redefining what it means to become and be an American." -- AFAA MICHAEL WEAVER