In conjunction with the San Francisco Public Library, poet laureate devorah major made a public appeal for poems that explored the realities of people’s lives in a city as tough and tragic as it is beautiful and exhilarating. This anthology collects the best of this poetry by celebrated writers, schoolchildren with fresh eyes, homeless people and students, perceptive elders and working people from every ethnicity and class. A cross section of the city’s voices offers a passionately experienced response to the city, the nation and the world.

devorah major is an African American poet, novelist, essayist and teacher. Among her books are Brown Glass Windows, Open Weave, street smarts and Where River Meets Ocean.