Kendra Allen

Kendra Allen's The Collection Plate offers an uncompromising body of poems. She gives voice to rage, specific and universal, and pulls the curtains away to show us the ugliness and hypocrisy that lie behind much of what passes as kindness or care. One of the best examples of this ability see shaming truths is offered by a pair of poems both titled "Naked and Afraid."

The first poem of this title seems to discuss strategies for winning on a program like Survivor—what to bring, what kind of location to look for. She notes "One of the biggest challenges contestants face/on the show is finding drinkable water." One needs containers for water. One needs fire—because even seemingly clear water will need disinfecting. And a failure to obtain clean water can have catastrophic consequences.

The second poem of this title, moves from reality TV to real life: "one of the biggest challenges citizens face/is finding drinkable water." The individuals at the heart of this poem aren't contestants out to win a prize. They're ordinary Americans living in cities like Flint, Michigan, where tap water can be deadly and drinking it can have catastrophic consequences: "Drinking from contaminated/waters leads to Legionnaires'/disease, lethal pneumonia,/abandonment, dehydration,/paranoia."

Reading Allen's work isn't easy—and it isn't intended to be. The mirror she holds up through her poems will have you seeing yourself and your world in damning, and also revealing, light. Enter these poems with caution, but also with openness. Read them one or two at a time and let them sink in. Allen wastes no words, and none of her words should be wasted by readers.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.… (meer)