The Maverick Room: Poems

Thomas Sayers Ellis is an authentic voice straight out of DC. No pretension involved, just giving it to you like you want it...real, raw, and funky. I've always been proud of where I and my family come from and Ellis just makes me prouder. The Maverick Room sings while slappin' elitism in the face, laughs while laying out the innate rhythm of the Chocolate City before you on the page like steak & potatoes on a platter...substance is what this collection provides. You'll be full, but you'll still want more. I definitely recommend The Maverick Room to lovers of poetry and anyone who wants to experience a different, but equally important side of the Nation's Capitol.

Thomas Sayers Ellis' debut work, The Maverick Room, has "urban" written all over it. It is an edgy and thought-provoking collection of poems. In it Ellis acts as our tour guide as we travel with him -- and immerse ourselves in his view of the language of hip hop and pop art, the neighborhood, family, culture and much more. I might not be the best person to review poetry but I was moved by his concise, almost stark manner of writing. His emotions shine through. I kept thinking of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (my favorite poet), and although their poetry is different in so many ways -- because both men's thoughts are for their own particular time, their messages are both timeless. If you like gritty, urban, thought-provoking poems, this volume is for you.

The debut collection of poetry by Thomas Sayers Ellis (co-founder of The Dark Room Collective, a gathering place for young African American poets), The Maverick Room showcases a new and original voice in American poetry, one marked by inner-city youth culture energy that is part lyrical narrative, part "Parliament Funkadelic", a blind of chaos and control through the sheer and simple power of words. The Roll Call: Any half-decent rapper/Can conjure the dead,//Can reach into graves/And accuse God//Of Indian-giving./The trick is ancestral,//No more magic than memory's/Hidden strings & chains.//Trust me,/We haven't forgotten a name.//Say them. Raise your hands./Holler at me!