Soul of Isabella is about beginnings and endings and making a difference
where one stands in a complex world.
In her second volume of poetry, Isabella invites you to reflect on your
own story by sharing facets of hers and her thoughts on themes as diverse as youth
violence, geopolitics, and the United States Library of Congress. In compelling,
precise, and lively language Isabella woos the reader to practice cursive writing with
her in kindergarten; high-step to "Pomp and Circumstance" on May Day; struggle
through swirling, knee-deep snow to reach high school during frigid winters; work
with her as a part-time sales clerk in a treacherous environment from junior high
through undergraduate school; and crisscross the programs of Baptist, United
Methodist, Presbyterian, and storefront churches in learning about God, faith, and
the social gospel.
Her playfulness and wit are evident in West Mary Street, Hair Parade, and
Weather Jitters; while Requiem in Reverse, Death Becomes Us, and Children of the
Twenty-First Century illuminate her passion for proactive involvement in building
the future - all within the context of her African-American heritage as a minister's
daughter and a hybrid of Farmville, Virginia and Chester, Pennsylvania.
