Reading this collection of poetry was such a profound experience for me. And while I was lured in by the title, assuming it would be more about the author’s daughter, I realized this collection was so much more.

Still Can't Do My Daughter's Hair illustrates thoughts and feelings of a black man in America, often illuminating fears and bitter memories that plague him. His words are beautiful, yet haunting in how they linger with you long after you’ve finished reading. Poems that start off as innocent childhood memories take detours down dark paths, as William Evans gives us a glimpse of a bleak reality full of slain bodies. In this sense, his words can be sobering. He gives life to feelings of hurt, anger, and grief that pull you out of your comfort zone and implore you to wake up and acknowledge his pain. I look forward to reading more from the author and would recommend this book to others.

*I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.*

I was expecting that this book contains poems about a father and daughter relationship, but I think I was mislead because of the title. This poetry book by William Evans recounts his experiences growing up as a Black American, thus racism and oppression is the theme of some of the verses. The poems are a mix of different emotions such as strong indignation and hurt, albeit there are a few poems in the end that tells about his love for his family.

Poems covering:
Beauty and simplicity in the everyday
Earthy realness of metaphor and reality of nature
Humility of being held up as an example of your race
Entwined hurt and hope imagining his daughter's future
Police violence. gang violence. and trying to stay alive.

These poems explore racism, sexism, gentrification, profiling, slavery, superheroes & regular heroes, oppression, faith, and of course fatherhood The juxtaposition of violence and virtue took my breath away and the truth of it hurt my heart. This is one of the best collections of poetry I've read this year.

Evans' poetry is very real and raw and emotional, and it's clear why he is so successful as a slam poet as these poems beg to be delivered with power rather than sit on a page.

This collection of poetry about what it's like to be a black man in America are haunting. After reading about the author and his history of doing slam poetry I can really see how much of this collection would work especially well if performed.

Button Poetry continues to knock it out the park with their releases. Most (all?) of their authors are well-known spoken word poets. Even if you think poetry is really not your thing, please hop over to youtube, find Button Poetry, and dive in. You will not regret it. I am a giant fan and often peruse their video archives when I need a creative boost.

As with all spoken word poets, I suggest you go over to youtube and check out a poem or two of theirs before reading so you get a better understanding of their delivery and lyrical voice. You’ll enjoy reading this text more if you do.

Still Can't Do My Daughter's Hair by William Evans is another amazing publication from Button Poetry. Focused primarily of what it means to survive life in modern America as a black man, Evans dives in to his experiences and history without apology. It’s often hard to read in the best way possible, the weight and pain leave an impact, poem by poem, note by note. He doesn’t shy away from the ones that are hard to tell and doesn’t avoid the stories that may leave him not in the best light. He manages to brilliantly articulate major issues in the smallest nuanced ways at times. Raw and powerful.

My Wife Is Shaped Like has been one of my favorites by Evans since I first heard it. If you’re going to watch him deliver one poem in spoken form, this is a great place to start.





I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my opinion, rating, or review.

I cannot remember the last time I read poetry this incredible and honest. I would definitely recommend this one.

I'm not usually one to read poetry but something about the title wanted me to read this book. The poet is very raw and you can feel that death is always present in every page. It's laddened heavy with many lives that have been lost in the black lives matter movement and hundreds of years prior. There are some token lighter poems but the body of work is expressed in matter of fact sombre way.

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I wasn’t impressed with this poetry collection. I only liked one poem in here and it was called My Wife Is Shaped Like.

I'm such a huge fan of Button Poetry. When I saw William Evans' book was available, I was so excited. His poetry is raw, full of love and hurt and anger and memories. Full of so much emotion, enough to place you in his mind and shoes. Enough to give you goosebumps everywhere and make your eyes well up. I love his poetry.

I am tempted to psycho-analyze the title of the book and the poems within but a piece of me is telling me to keep still "ain't nobody got time for that!" so, I'll delve right into my two-cents!
Short version: Surviving in America.
Long version: A collection of experiences, emotions, memories and hopes of a young black man growing up in America with glimpses into his family, the generations before him and the male influences in his life as vividly depicted in Inheritance.
The poems depict different struggles and in each you are bound to hear not one voice but many voices that echo the message therein. In Call the Gospel by its name, and I say cathedral when I mean gunpowder you feel the rage, loss, and confusion. If I were to sit back and listen to everything that's been happening in America and to forget all that the media houses have been sharing with the world, I'd come back to these two poems. I believe my clarity lies there and my empathy resides in ...to see him lowered into the world that tries to claim me each and every day.
Then there is My wife is shaped like which I loved.
I've never read any of the author's works and this was my first time being ushered into his world courtesy of Button Poetry Books and NetGalley and I see myself perching right here.

A great collection of poetry. Ranging from humorous to heartfelt. Looking forward to more from this author.

The hurt in this poetry is real. The sorrow of this poetry comes from outsiders blindness. The joy of this poetry is from the little things, the texture of the daughters hair, her smile, her light, her beauty. The worry of this poetry comes in hushed tones of a man in wife wondering how to tell their little girl that she lives in a world built to be against her. Worrying that one day the father will go out and never come back. The truth that that almost happened years before.

This poetry made me ache. It made me feel so sorrowful because we now live in Trump’s America and while racism was never a thing of the past that it is rising like a demon created to divide all of us… all of us human beings (of course we don’t always see that when we look at another human do we?)

This poetry also made me feel sorry, sorry because my skin is of the same skin that has formed this poetry’s hurt. Sorry because no matter how I feel I can’t change another’s hateful heart.

Read this poetry to understand another’s version of what it means to be alive. Read this poetry no matter who you are or what you believe, because this is the stuff we need to mend some of our brokenness.

While the title makes you think this book revolves around Evans' daughter, it really focuses more on growing up and being black in America. Evans looks at what young black men deal with as well what fathers go through. You can feel his pain, his anger, and his sense of disenfranchisement.

Evans joins many other spoken word poets in publishing a book. I've been a fan of Button Poetry for a while now and am glad they are getting these out into the world.

This spectacular collection impressed me from Hanif Abdurraqib's prologue to its very last page's offering, illuminating the experience of a black father navigating this white supremacist world!