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attraversiamo is a phenomenal book of poetry by one of the 21st century's most talented black female writers. Monique Ferrell's lyrical collection lingers in the ear with potent insightfulness and vulnerability. She magnificently beckons all generations to be still and read.
—Marta Effinger-Crichlow, Staging Migrations toward an American West: From Ida B. Wells to Rhodessa Jones and producer/director of the forthcoming docu
"And it is stark," Monique Ferrell tells us in the first poem of her new collection. She's right, of course. Everything is stark: desires, relationships, disappointments, even triumphs. We don"t have the luxury of buffers; we always find ourselves negotiating sharp edges. There are no pretty pastel colors to ease us into a false sense of security; Monique describes an implacable world that�s black, white, and gray. Her long lines have the urgency of breaking-news announcements, and throughout the collection she counsels the reader: �keep your dignity,� she urges in one poem and reassures us in another that we aren't struggling in solitude ("it is hardgoing for us all"). This book is about how we respond to choices. We either can embrace its wise poems or ignore them. I choose the former.
—Joel Allegretti, editor of Rabbit Ears: TV Poems
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