father forgive me

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A moving and memorable debut collection of poetry by Milwaukee native Deshawn McKinney, “father forgive me” explores family, future and past. The collection is a study of becoming and being made. McKinney’s debut was described as “an acerbic hip hop hymnal” filled with “fearless, wounding and tender” poems. “father forgive me” is a rich introduction to a prodigious poet from whom readers can expect to hear and learn much more in the years to come.

Praise for father forgive me

“A stunning, tender, precise debut from Deshawn McKinney that I will be revisiting many times. McKinney’s writing is vibrant and exact, his pacing (like water) flowing and ebbing in ways that enhance the reading.” – Dana Sweeney

“Deshawn’s writing traverses a landscape where ‘the leaves bleed’, ‘waves swallow cities hole’, where violence and softness fold into each other and spill all over the place like twin waves in the water of life’s ocean, where dreams are ravaging and kind, where home is ‘a marble block’, where the work of learning to live and love in spite of life is treated like real serious stuff.” – Emma Johnson