Connected Islands: New and Selected Poems

Naomi Long Madgett

“In her new and selected Connected Islands, Naomi Long Madgett examines and celebrates the bonds of family, friendship, faith and art to show that as much as we are alone, we are together. From the lives of heroes such as Phillis Wheatley and courageous visionaries of her own acquaintance to the dialectal hymns and prayers of hard-working African Americans, Madgett portrays the ‘many faces of endurance.’ These are poems of clarity and a resolute grace that, like her city seagulls, seek ‘sustenance in [what is] discarded’ by landing on ‘posts of light.’ A welcome, satisfying collection from Detroit’s Poet Laureate whose elegant and insightful work continues undiminished into her ninth decade.” — Terry Blackhawk

“The poems of Naomi Long Madgett are like slivers of city life. Sirens and streetlights are balanced by blood memories and ‘that universal something that makes us want to sing.’ Gathered on the front porch at twilight or kneeling at the feet of Jesus, Naomi Madgett reminds us that the poet’s most potent weapons are still love and truth and thestubborn inability to look away.”

— Pearl Cleage