The Book of Alice

The dazzling latest from Forde (Mother Body) draws on the King James Bible to lyrically recount the story of the poet’s grandmother, Alice, a Black woman who journeys from the American South to New York during the Great Migration and overcomes heartbreak and long odds to raise a family along the way. Narrative poems explore Alice’s experience leaving behind the world she knows as she endeavors to make a life for herself and her children: “Alice removes her shoes from her sore feet,/... sees in the well-worn tread a bit of Carolina clay/... pinches its rosy trails between her fingers/—the last remnant of home.” Entries in Alice’s voice showcase a mind questioning patriarchy: “that’s what’s wrong/ with womanin’, we stay spinning yarn/ from the colorful crochet of our minds, but few/ admire it—Dear LORD, why did you make me/ in your image if you wanted me to kneel?” Forde incorporates a variety of forms into the collection, demonstrating her playful sense of craft in poems that take a cue from scripture, such as “Fat Gospel” with its long lines and refrain, “& it came to pass that Alice was fine with her fat.” This life-affirming book celebrates resilient women and their legacies. (Jan.)