A suite of poems about a percussionist in 1970 Spanish Harlem music circles, from the author of The Crazy Bunch

 

A National Book Critics Circle 2014 Finalist for Poetry

 

Through dream song and elegy, alternate takes and tempos, prizewinning poet Willie Perdomo’s third collection crackles with vitality and dynamism as it imagines the life of a percussionist, rebuilding the landscape of his apprenticeship, love, diaspora, and death. At the beginning of his infernal journey, Shorty Bon Bon recalls his live studio recording with a classic 1970s descarga band, sharing his recollection with an unidentified poet. This opening section is followed by a call-and-response with his greatest love, a singer named Rose, and a visit to Puerto Rico that inhabits a surreal nationalistic dreamscape, before a final jam session where Shorty recognizes his end and a trio of voices seek to converge on his elegy.

 

“A vivid portrait of a late-20th century Nuyorican musical community … Perdomo manages to mix the language of city life with a sense of the transcendent.”—NPR.org