In the introduction, we are afforded to opportunity to witness the various reasons Rita Dove chose specific artists as well as the way she lists their work in her book. She opens the introduction with a letter that seems to be written to a close friend and or colleague. In this letter, she outlines five reasons why she has chosen to produce this book. Among these reasons was the influx of creative writing programs which gives young writers a place to exist as they develop the necessary skills to advance in the area of creative writing. This is extremely important, especially to young black writers who may often find themselves in a space where they are not treated equally or have access to the same resources as their white counterparts while striving to advance their writing ability. Given the history of non-white and female writers whose voices were not heard as much; the reshaping of African American poetry is highly regarded as a tool to further those who fall into spaces of not being treated fairly. Dove also includes poetry that over time has made a major influence on American history. Some of the works follow major occurrences that impact people of different races and cultural still today. This is important because as time goes on many people began to forget major things that have happen in the past. Especially during the new millennium age where the past has truly become the past. By forgetting the past we may find ourselves forgetting those who came before us and opened many doors for us to be able to live the lives we are living. People may also find themselves taking things for granted that were fought for many years ago. This is quite dangerous to black people especially. These are the cases when we run into things like political issues because people take voting too lightly. Dove states “We begin to wrap up things before the end arrives.” These reminded me of how often times white people would quickly try to silence black people when talking about slavery. Too many times white people try to sweep slavery under the rug as though it was not a big thing and in a way suggest black people should get over it since it has been over for years. Funny how fast they forget that black people still suffer from the awful days of slavery. America has been shaped based on the white hierarchy of white supremacy. Unfortunately, the world’s views of black people have not totally changed since and even some black people fall victim to the harsh reality of their ancestors once being enslaved. The structure of the world has been systematically set up to keep black people feeling inferior to white people and for generations, this has influenced the way many black people feel towards themselves and even other black people. Poetry has become a great avenue for blacks to freely express and share many of the hardships once forced upon them. As Dove mentions, some people either experienced slavery first-hand or from a relative and it impacts them tremendously. However, as the new century dawned, some people who could afford wiggle room were able and motivated to start fresh, do things differently, and embrace the new which helped them in overcoming some of the trauma many still dealt with.