Full Moon of Sonia.

Full Moon of Sonia by Sonia Sanchez Via International Artists, Inc. December 2004 $22.95, Compact Disc

It is refreshing to see a legend, a respected artist, come forward and show all of us how to do it right. Full Moon of Sonia does more than give us good poetry set to music; it galavants through an amazing formal and stylistic range that reminds us all how Sonia Sanchez finally got to this place.

From the CD's first utterance: What to say to you now/in the soft afternoon / as you hold us all / in a single death, her lines are surprising and Sanchez refuses to stay away from either difficult form or topic.

In particular "Poem to Some Women ..." is guaranteed to bring goose bumps to the listener if he/she can even sit through the persona piece about the woman who leaves her seven-year-old at a crack house for a week in exchange for a fix. Still, Ms. Sanchez is as celebratory ("Haiku #11") as she is raw, as uplifting ("Catch the Fire"), as she is rebellious as she is compassionate. "Tupac" explores complexity, forcing us inward to consider tiffs controversial icon as a microcosm in which to closely examine the world. Her ability to find the necessary compassion is testament to her talent: the day I heard the /sound of your death / my brother ... / I remember the poems in your mother's eyes.

Further, the music and vocals that accompany the pieces are smartly thought out, and make brilliant use of the polyrhythms in both. Some choices for musical accompaniment are as surprising--e.g. "Poem for Some Women,' "I Have Walked a Long Time--as the turns in the poems themselves. Full Moon of Sonia is more than a good poetry CD. It is a must-have exquisite work from a literary legend.

Roger Bonair-Agard is cofounder of the LouderARTS Project and a Cave Canem fellow.