Migration by Cynthia Robinson Young

“Will I be free enough to reclaim / what was good in their lives here,  and brave enough / to confront the ghosts that chased them away”  (“Migration”)? Cynthia  collection, Migration, explores family  history through legend, lore, and fact to discover past generations of  women: “When you say my name, you tell my story” (“Message from  Egururu”). These rich, dense poems balance observation and exploration,  “no one to ask but a website of strangers” (“Now I Know”) as Young  traverses her personal history through poetry. From the chains of  Southern slaves to the turmoil of the North and back to a new freedom in  the South, Young boldly declares: “I want a different eulogy when I die”  (“Changing the Story”). And she will have it.

–KB Ballentine, Author of Almost Everything, Almost Nothing and The Perfume of Leaving

Cynthia Young’s poignant poems about her family range from slavery to present day.  She mesmerizes the reader with her inherent talent of storytelling.  Her history is America’s history of disregard for human life.  This is a collection of heart break and hope in redemption.

–Helga Kidder, author of three books of poems, most recently Blackberry Winter