Nocturne in Joy

Tatiana Johnson-Boria's Nocturne in Joy is an exercise in Black vulnerability through poetry. Johnson-Boria commands poetic forms flawlessly and fluently, using the form to her advantage in poems like Another Death, where the spacing between sentence fragments replicates the short anapestic breathing before death. With an unwavering voice turned towards the reality of growing up in a difficult childhood, within a larger oppressive system fueled by racism, sexism, and violence; this staggering collection offers glasses for a sharp-edged glimpse into what it is to be raised from a Black girl into a Black woman, and the trauma and healing born in the process.