When the Trees Finally Testify (PB) (2024)

The snap, pop, and roar of Bonita Lee Penn's poetry carries readers through the fires of time. This remarkable collection reflects themes of urgency similar to those of the Black Arts Movement. Her poems call out names, explore oppression within and outside of the Black community all the while demanding accountability. Her poems travel the path of intergenerational Black women's experiences in search of identity, protection, and love. Penn blends ruthless images of a grandmother asking for her matches, to an unjust history on repeat, to joy found in all spaces Black, to calm healing chants. Bonita Lee Penn's poems are prayers of protection for Black people in America.