Justonics

Becky’s new collection of poems, Justonics

A collection of visual poems that crave color and insist on dancing, Justonics combines justice and ebonics to create a popular vernacular that breathes its way into music, art, and activism. Du Bois and Hancock (Herbie) become verbs, tomboys twirl on a fireman’s pole, and Buddha bells startle convention.

Praise for Justonics

And maybe the deepest hope behind every art is to help us see more of what is real. And maybe the joy in poetry is to help us hear the music of what is true. And maybe what we place on the page will chart steps on a path we are already taking. And maybe the nouns, verbs, lines, and differing pages we gather together sometimes add up to an image we can never forget. Becky Thompson’s glimmering poems help us see and hear, read and feel, understand and love, as if for the first time.

Fred Marchant, Author of Said Not Said (Graywolf Press)

Becky Thompson boldly hurls us into the space in which language is born. Here parts of speech are captivatingly reclassified and etymologies engendered like nascent stars. Here too poems take flight in delightful visual pattern, surprising collage, and bright burst of meaning. Justonics gives us a new way to read ourselves and the world.

Danielle Legros Georges, Author of The Dear Remote Nearness of You (Barrow Street) and Boston Poet Laureate

In this newest collection, the poet brings us back to the treasure that lives inside language to remind us of how much the world needs justice, caring, and love. In Justonics, Thompson celebrates her joy in the art with a new passion.

Afaa M. Weaver, Author of The Plum Flower Trilogy and Spirit Boxing (U Pitt Press)
justonics becky thompson