How the Boogeyman Became a Poet

December 1, 2023
In this memoir in verse, a gay, Black spoken-word artist, poet, and hip-hop educator recollects parts of his becoming. At his high school in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he was known as "the man with the poems," Keith was already a self-assured young writer: "I was thirteen when the first poem burst in my atmosphere like dat." Mystified by a feeling of sadness, he responded by writing a poem. After being placed in the gifted and talented track, he's critiqued by a "miserable" English teacher who doesn't appreciate his strengths. Though writing poetry keeps Keith afloat emotionally, grappling with his sexuality is a different story altogether. He's attracted to boys but hasn't shared this openly and feels angst over feeling "obligated to act out a prescriptive performance every day" and to follow an expected script while attempting to see a way through to the other side of his accumulated fears. The poems flow into one another and are occasionally broken up with photos from his childhood and youth, images of his handwritten poems, and instant message chats, all of which enhance readers' experiences of the book. Keith offers a vulnerability within these pages that's reminiscent of George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue (2020) and Candice Iloh's Every Body Looking (2020) and will especially speak to young people who are dealing with similar educational, familial, and interpersonal pressures. An emotionally honest and self-reflective debut. (Verse memoir. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In this free-verse memoir, author Keith goes back to his senior year of high school, a time when he was a closeted gay African American teen attending public school in Washington, DC. Despite working two jobs, Keith's single mother barely made enough to keep their household going, and Keith wore hand-me-downs and cheap knockoffs. He was short, small, and totally nonathletic, but he got good grades, sang in his church choir, and had a girlfriend and a small group of close friends. Keith was also really good at writing poetry. His poetic prowess becomes evident as this first-person story unfolds and his marvelously expressive lines fly across pages. His interior monologue exposes his thoughts, conflicts, desires, and emotions as Keith documents taking his SATs and applying for college, tackles senioritis, and shares his tentative explorations of his sexual identity. The book only covers about two years of Keith's life, but his searing honesty and deft wordplay create a vivid impression of this enormously talented and multifaceted writer and performer. Teens will relate to Keith's story and celebrate his conquering of the Boogeyman: his own doubts and fears.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.