Green River Valley, Robert Lashley’s third poetry collection, is an unapologetic and harrowing look at gentrification, racism, and personal and collective loss in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. With each poem, Lashley asks readers to bear witness to his lived experiences there and to honor the people, places and memories that shaped him alongside the city we know today. Lashley pulls no punches in this collection, which showcases his signature, rhythmic eloquence and acuity more than ever. His narrative threads expose hidden intimacies amid trauma and ambivalence in the face of institutionalized racism. Readers will leave this book asking, how do we build and honor a city’s legacy, and what part did we take in that journey?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Lashley is a writer and activist. He was a 2016 Jack Straw Fellow, Artist Trust Fellow, and a nominee for a Stranger Genius Award. He has had work published in The Seattle Review of Books, NAILED, Poetry Northwest, McSweeney’s, and The Cascadia Review. His poetry was also featured in such anthologies as Many Trails to The Summitt, Foot Bridge Above the Falls, Get Lit, Make It True, and It Was Written. His previous books include THE HOMEBOY SONGS (Small Doggies Press, 2014), and UP SOUTH (Small Doggies Press, 2017). In 2019, The Homeboy Songs was named by Entropy Magazine as one of the 25 most essential books to come out of the Seattle area.