Read and discuss a book of poems with others who appreciate poetry and like to take a closer look at form, structure, and craft. Discussions will be lively and interactive, and participants will have a chance to share thoughts and ask questions. Come prepared to read favorite poems, lines, and passages from the book aloud. Participants ccan request a library copy of the book during the registration process.

March's selection is The Shared World by Vievee Francis.  The discussion will be led by Sandra Cross.

The latest collection from award-winning poet Vievee Francis, The Shared World imagines the ideas and ideals and spaces of the Black woman. The book delves into inherited memories and restrictions between families, lovers, and strangers and the perception and inconvenient truth of Black woman as mother—with or without child. Francis challenges the ways in which Black women are often dismissed while expected to be nurturing. This raw assemblage of poetic narratives stares down the oppressors from within and writes a new language in the art of taking back the body and the memory. These poetic narratives are brutal in their lyrical blows but tender with the bruised history left behind. “You can't stop this / song," she writes. “More hands than yours have closed / around my throat." Francis's lyric gifts are on full display as she probes self-discovery, history, intimacy, and violence. Her voice encompasses humor and gravity, enigma and revelation. 

Sandra Cross lives in Stinson Beach, between the Pacific Ocean and a redwood forested mountain. After retiring from her legal career she has returned to her love of reading and writing poetry and is also busy keeping deer, foxes and skunks out of her garden. She holds an MFA from Saint Mary's College and serves as chairperson of the Marin Poetry Center.