For the Love of Black Men: Poems on Change, Life, Truth, and Trust (PB) (2015)

For the Love of Black Men is a triumph...filled with power - with poems reflecting the rich traditions and complexity of today's black society. For the Love of Black Men is a thought-provoking, hard-hitting book of poetry that offers renderings of past and present indignities, self-introspection, spiritual commitment, forgiveness and the necessity of solutions. It probes areas that are not openly discussed. More than just a book of poetry, For the Love of Black Men addresses issues credibly, compassionately, and directly, with a minimum of soft edges. For the Love of Black Men transports the reader on a personal and private tour into a realm where some Black men have had to wrestle and confront their own challenging questions concerning their wholeness. Many of the concerns these men have had to face may be similar to all men. However, because of the legacy of slavery, their obstacles are more. The wholeness that is being sought is always present, even in the most desolate of times. Trusting one's inner source sometimes gives clarification to dilemmas that appear inconceivable. Many times silence or solitude are means by which answers are revealed. The fast-paced survival atmosphere in which most black men live does not provide such opportunities. In communities where there is a predominance of black men, the constant din of helicopters, fire-engines, sirens and other disturbances does not grant much contemplative time. For the Love of Black Men offers hope and the possibility of alternate choices. Ayin Adams' poetry addresses the Black Man from a potpourri of issues. A gentle and compassionate rumination shared in the loving description of The Eyes of Father while the contrast of Sometimes I feel like a Fatherless Son and the brutally truthful concerns addressed in Hostage or Husband offer objective assessments. In more recent times, approximately fifty plus reported cases of unarmed black men have been murdered by policemen which is a continuation of the 1857 original statement concerning Dred Scott, "No rights which the white man was bound to respect." Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin were some of the victims who have given their lives...is an unsolicited martyrdom the ultimate reward for a Black Man, the final recognition that one never could have achieved on minimum wage or selling individual cigarettes with a second-class citizen mentality? The answers are always within, and the way in which we confront them will determine our happiness or unhappiness. For the Love of Black Men awakens us to a black man's world in today's American Society with searing poems that stretch from the street to the healing power of family and love. From the chilling immediacy of I Can't Breathe (for Eric Garner) to the horrific truth of Unarmed, Adams tells apocalyptic moments in the Black community. Adams also encompasses the love, compassion and humor that connects the black man to the black community and to the world. Fortunately for all of us, Adams verses actually become a legitimate shelf reference of America's shameful history of the slayings of unarmed black men. For the Love of Black Men exposes readers to an expansive reassessment of some of the issues that have prevailed since slavery which have produced myriads of confusion. Ayin Adams permits readers, participants, victims and those who have a genuine desire to rectify the problems, the hope that the offerings she has presented will illicit questions and perhaps provide some solutions. Poetry reaching universal experience is fundamental to understanding human life and Ayin Adams connects the individual and the larger society. This book must be in everyone's library.