Table of Contents
Acknowledgments & Dedication 2
Foreword by COMMON 6
Introduction 8
liberty was misquoted
Immigrants Nancy Byrd Turner 13
Enemies Wendell Berry 14
the ISM Wanda Coleman 15
Discrimination Kenneth Rexroth 16
The News You Don't Get at Home Luis J. Rodriguez 17
Wise I Amiri Boraka 19
Poem in the American Manner Dorothy Parker 20
Possessor's Pity George Abbe 21
Liberty Needs Glasses Tupac Shakur 22
we are all getting burned
Misery Longston Hughes 23
Mexico Is Sinking Guillermo Gómez-Peña 24
Columbus Day Jimmie Durham 25
Points of View Ishmael Reed 27
The Handicapped Philip Dacey 28
Bilingual Christmas Pat Mora 30
Man in Space Billy Collins 31
Indian Movie, New Jersey Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni 32
The Geography of Poetry Assotto Saint 34
Invisibility Poem: Lesbian Ilze Mueller 35
La Migra Pat Mora 36
Picasso Ellyn Maybe 38
Sure You Can Ask Me A Personal Question Diane Burns 40
L.A. Prayer Francisco X. Alarcón 42
giving secrets away
Other People's Lives Alice Mishkin 43
Windshield Alicia Ostriker 44
St. Peter Claver Toi Derricotte 45
Being a Good Americani Fawaz Turki 46
Look Back Gogisgi 48
Award Ray Durem 49
In Response to Executive Order 9066 Dwight Okita 51
Harlem Hopscotch Maya Angelou 52
Please Fire Me Deborah Garrison 53
The Legend Garrett Hongo 54
White Lies Natasha Trethewey 56
This is a poem to my son Peter Peter Meinke 57
Warning Mitsuye Yamada 58
the signals we give
Outwitted Edwin Markham 59
My Great-Grandfather's Slaves Wendell Berry 60
Riding the D-Train Enid Dome 62
jap Lee Herrick 63
Admission of Failure Phyllis Koestonbaum 65
Anglo-Saxon Protestant Heterosexual Men Wendell Berry 66
Sympathy Paul Laurence Dunbar 67
A Ritual to Read to Each Other William Stafford 68
Failing in the Presence of Ants Gary Soto 69
Sunrise Mary Oliver 70
the next thing to happen
The Greater Thing Edwin Markham 73
Piece by Piece Luis J. Rodriguez 74
Freedom of Expression William Stafford 75
Marked Carmen Tafolla 76
Prayer Louis Untermeyer 77
The Last Word Amina Baraka 78
Perhaps the World Ends Here Joy Harjo 79
Being a Person William Stafford 80
Biographical Notes 82
Credits 90
Index 93
About Our Contributors 94
