Made to Explode: Poems

In her fourth collection, acclaimed poet Sandra Beasley interrogates the landscapes of her life. She probes memories of growing up in Virginia, in Thomas Jefferson’s shadow, where liberal affluence obscured and perpetuated racist aggressions, but where the poet was simultaneously steeped in the cultural traditions of the American south. Her home in Washington, DC, inspires prose poems documenting and critiquing our capital’s institutions and monuments, and a stirring suite explores Beasley’s affiliation with the disabled community. Bold and intimate, Made to Explode untangles the poet’s roots and seeks out resonance in society writ large.