The Essential June Jordan
JUNE JORDAN, ED. JAN HELLER LEVI AND CHRISTOPH KELLER
Reviewed by Elizabeth Muscari
The Essential June Jordan, edited by Jan Heller Levi and Christoph Keller, has exquisitely and intentionally curated late poet June Jordan’s work. Boiling down the poems of such a prominent writer and activist is no easy task, but Levi and Keller have selected poems that will make readers think, explore, and admire Jordan’s legacy.
Her poems prompt both action and thought. Jordan’s signature arresting voice admits to us, “These poems / they are things that I do / in the dark / reaching for you / whoever you are / and / are you ready?”
The poems span decades, all detailing Jordan’s tireless work for justice through her writing and activism against racism, violence against women and minority groups, police brutality, and more. While the poems were written in the twentieth century, they are still painfully relevant.
It’s evident in this collection that Jordan was a master of using language and form as vehicles to protest injustice in America. For example, many poems contemplate racist undertones in language, combating it by using Black English and by pushing traditional poetic forms beyond their usual appearances.
The poems’ subjects aren’t sugar-coated and their messages aren’t hidden behind winding metaphors or abstract language—they are sure, direct, and concrete: “I will no longer lightly walk behind / a one of you who fear me.” Oftentimes, the poems echo and speak back to one another, demonstrating Jordan’s lasting legacy.
The Essential June Jordan proves the power in June Jordan’s work. Her work called for us then and calls for us now, asking us to fight for each other and against what tears us apart, all while believing in the possibility of a better world.