To be in This Number: Poems

With her fifth book of poetry, Alane Rollings continues to demonstrate her originality and her own poetic style. To Be In This Number shapes personal and national events in twentieth-century America into a narrative which begins before the Depression and ends after 9/11. The historical sweep includes the birth of jazz, World War II (and antisemitism), the rise of rock music, the civil rights movement, and the expanding women’s consciousness. Always keeping in mind the roles of both a national consciousness and the individual, Rollings examines a variety of themes surrounding family, race, and gender relationships to see how they have (or have not) progressed. True to Rollings’ courageous style, each poem is part of an unusual journey through poetic narrative, profound emotion, and intimate language.