by Amanda Gorman is a lyrical poetry collection that manages to treat our current moment in time and our history with both sharp-eyed observation and grace. “This book/Is full of ourselves,” she writes in one poem entitled “Compass” and Call Us What We Carry is a comment on the current moment of reckoning. Gorman plays around with the form and structure of her poems with arresting effect--one poem called “America” is written in the shape of the flag and includes the searing line: “Do you really understand what it is to be this dispensable body.” Another, in the shape of a fish, recalls the history of whaleship Essex, the inspiration for Moby Dick. Gorman’s voice is both pithy and beautiful, her words bracing and inspiring. This is a poetry collection that is as expansive as the America she profoundly depicts. (Non-Fiction)