This book is a beautifully curated compilation of poetry themed around soul music. There are roughly forty BIPOC artists represented. Each shares a poem that they feel embodies soul, and after each there is a page that contains the artists's description of the poem, their bio, and they answer the questions "What is Soul?" and "Favorite Soul performer or song?".

Reading it was a wonderful and complicated experience, and I didn't realize how much I needed it. I enjoyed the poems, but as someone who often struggles with interpreting poetry the author discussion was invaluable. It gave me time to sit with each individual poem a little longer, and encouraged me to limit how much I read in a single sitting. The theme complimented the poetry and I found my head filled my head with music, occasionally making songs out of the poems, while I read.

My favorite poem was "Why a Colored Girl Will Slice you if you Talk Wrong About Motown" by Patricia Smith. It struck a chord with me, as I grew up in metro Detroit listening to Motown on the radio, and this poem exposes a protectiveness I also feel about my city. ( )