I’ve never been a huge fan of poetry. Throughout high school and college I had to challenge myself to read various works of poetry. However, the older I get the more interested I'm becoming in learning to read and enjoy poetry. Raegan Jackson’s, “God, Hair, Love & America” has shifted my outlook on poetry. Ms. Jackson wrote this book with so many emotions. This book of poems touched on so many issues for me personally, from my natural hair, to my relationship with God, love and just plain ol' living in America. Ms. Jackson’s poems challenged me to continue reading past the first poem, her work challenged me to seek answers in her words. Her poem, “Your Anything” really touched me, as I recently went through a divorce and had to ride that emotional roller coaster to accepting and loving me for me. The start of that poem, “it was done. That night I burned the blueprints to my conventional life and became the architect of my own private anarchy," really grabbed my interest... POWERFUL, powerful words… the words in this particular poem were my feelings when I decided to remove myself from my 11 year marriage, remove myself from being everything to someone else, and nothing to myself. The closure of this poem, “I will be my own rogue star shooting my own path, my own way without your gravitational pull, your approval, your name, without your anything.” Those words alone were so moving to me that I literally cried when I read over and over again. Reading that poem gave me so much closure. All 26 poems are wonderful; and there is something for everyone in one poem or the other. I say read “God, Hair, Love & America." You’re in for a delightful trip. It is an easy read; it’ll catch your imagination and it’ll make you think... so, don't just buy one book for yourself... grab two or three for mama, sister, friends and cousins! Raegan Jackson’s poems are superb and worth sharing!
~ Tam Solomon, Contributing Writer
