REBEL REVIEW: A Stone’s Throw from C r a y by Michelle Alexander
Transcendent. Incandescent. Rhythm. Edge. Flow. Aka: A Stone’s Throw from C r a y. Michelle Alexander's poetry collection cascades, breaks, peels back, returns. It sits like waves upon the mind, ripples on the heart. It tastes of heat. Shivers with an ache of the body and soul. New American Press describes this 2025 release as "an experience of human connection, struggle, and transformation." An American-Trinidadian poet, Alexander weaves identity with imagery, resulting in a tapestry as aesthetically pleasing as it is profound. From the surreality of psychosis to the birth of Black Girl Magic, Michelle’s accounts are beautiful, and brave. The verse is sophisticated— so sophisticated I felt unequipped to review it. Yet, at the same time, I’m reminded how personal the poetic process becomes when real artists step onto the scene. The personal is political, but it’s also universal. You don’t so much read this collection, as ride it. Swim, or wade...