However, what separates Rankine from other authors is her ability to articulate the weight of glances and offhand remarks that people of colour hear every day. She delves into the ways in which Black people are perceived and judged, regardless of how they may try to appeal to the white gaze. Rankine draws on pop culture, street names, real experiences of Black citizens, and police brutality to weave together themes of race and racialization. Her words inspired me as a poet, informed me as an ally, and changed me as a reader. There’s an overwhelming feeling in the collection of taking up too much space-of being too visible and invisible all at once. Her volume, Citizen: An American Lyric, is a book-length poem which illuminates the uncomfortable reality of Black citizens’ everyday lives. Claudia Rankine’s voice is nothing short of transformational.
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