Perfect Black

Crystal Wilkinson draws on the countryside where she grew up and her gift for words in this mix of poems and prose. The pieces trace girlhood, racism, and the slow arrival of political consciousness, with rich images of life in Southern Appalachia.

Wilkinson turns her attention to motherhood, what it means to live inside a Black body, absent fathers, mental illness, childhood sexual abuse, and faith. Her reflections read like a long, intimate conversation about love, grief, and suffering. Striking illustrations by Ronald W. Davis, her longtime partner, accompany the text.