- Winner of the 2002 New York / New England AwardÂ
- Selected as one of the "Five Best Books of Poetry in 2003" by Black Issues Book Review
Using musical allusion and metaphor, juxtaposing history and autobiography, Matejka navigates a triracial identity. In these poems, having too many heritages means having no heritage at all. As a result, cultural identifiers--be they afros, war paint, or William Shatner--take the place of identity. Vibrant narrative lyrics use image as riff, syllable as note, to improvise on a personal history severed from tradition.
