In this poetry collection written by Yellow Arrow Publishing’s 2022 Writers-in-Residence, all of Baltimore’s complexities and charm are laid raw from the perspectives of these four women writers, who have as many commonalities as they have differences. From the shadow of the I-95 south ramp in Matilda Young’s lead-off poem, through Catrice Greer’s heartfelt letter to her city, Arao Ameny’s walk through a local bookstore, and ending with the rooftop crowing in Amy L. Bernstein’s concluding piece, readers are taken on a journey through nostalgic Baltimore streetscapes, stoop nights, and the iconic parks that make up the city’s gritty grid. At times, you feel swept through history on the back of a scooter careening down a cobblestone street, and at others, you can almost taste the stagnancy of the city’s harbor and history.

These writers tell the tale of how memories can linger on park benches and tinge the edges of our snapshots, how generations have passed down habits and recipes and heartache, and how you can feel yourself to be an insider, an outsider, or a stranger, within your own city. They tell how they have each walked a path of self-discovery, of longing for identity and belonging, of healing, of finding their own artistic path. The story these writers have woven together is a master lesson in using place as character. Baltimore is not just a backdrop in our story; she is one of us.