“Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib’s The Crown Ain’t Worth Much leaves me contemplating the meanings of soul: communal soul (peep the breadth of cultural shout outs), rhythmic soul (peep the breadth of sound and syntax), and spiritual soul (peep the breadth of compassion). As titles like “Ode to Drake, Ending with Blood in a Field” and “At the House Party Where We Found Out Whitney Houston Was Dead” suggest, Willis-Abdurraqib bridges the bravado and bling of praise with the blood and tears of elegy. The soul of this magnificent book is dynamic, distinguished, and when called for, down and dirty. What a fresh, remarkable debut.”
— Terrance Hayes, National Book Award winner
POEM0816
Set against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Columbus, Ohio, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much is a book of poems about history, love, loss, and grief. It is a book that deals in nostalgia, popular culture, and what it is to love a memory as you watch it start to fade away.
Percet-bound, softcover, b&w.