“Raina León has crafted an elegant, brooding, and playful peek-around-the-corner view of this often difficult existence through the eyes and thoughts of children, and those whose lives are affected by them – which is all of us. From the haunting dark of premature death to the transformative, ambivalent force of testosterone, Leon hears the proud, colloquial, melanin-informed line that distinguishes familiar and familial, that border that suggests we are all connected, and we are not. A narrative woven in the intimacy of despair as well as the proximity of hope, this is a stunning, imaginative collection.” - Quraysh Ali Lansana
Raina J. León’s first collection of poetry, Canticle of Idols, was a finalist for both the Cave Canem First Book Poetry Prize (2005) and the Andres Montoya Poetry Prize (2006). She co-founded The Acentos Review, an international quarterly online review fostering the work of Latina and Latino artists and writers.