Dear Darkness (2008) – Kevin Young’s Dear Darkness paints a beautifully solemn picture dedicated to African American culture in a collection of poems that remain personal yet universal. Pieces such as “Short End Blues” (57), “Ode to My Father’s Feet” (77), and “On Being the Only Black Person at the Johnny Paycheck Concert” (155) illustrate the simplicity of everyday life in complex and sometimes humorous ways. These details are told from one man, but the stories that house them can relate to many who read it. –Jalen White