Psychic Unrest.

Psychic Unrest by Lillian Allen Insomniac Press, 1999, $9.99 ISBN 1-895-83755-3

Few poetic works capture the complexity that language, race and gender play in the lives of black folk, with the clarity and intellect that Canadian poet Lillian Allen achieves in her most recent book. Titled appropriately, Psychic Unrest is a philosophical compilation of poems that hit like a Sunday school sermon forcing readers to examine their place in the world, and how that place is influenced by histories of racism and sexism.

It is the examination of this darker side of our culture that provides no easy answers for readers in poems like OJ, in which the narrator tackles the two-fold problem of "being woman and black," unable to find "a direct source of spillage / only a silent scream that winds too deep / like a lost river / going back to places too ancient." This scream, however, does not remain silent. Defying traditional notions of word and space, the poet boldly asks readers at the bottom of a white page "So you want to write ...? In whose language ...?"

Understanding that the written and spoken word is often a subtle, yet powerful instrument used against those who struggle with racial and gender oppression, Allen recreates language as a bridge, supported by voices extending from her native home in Jamaica to Northern America. The bridge she is building reflects the strength, beauty and diversity of the black tongue in a shallow and uncertain world. Filled with pages of depth and wit, Psychic Unrest is an insightful and worthwhile literary addition to Canadian poetry, and the hearts of poetry lovers everywhere.

Niki Herd is a freelance writer and poet who currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.