Why Not Take All of Me

This collection of narrative poems is a meditation on the life and music of one of the truly great artists of the twentieth century and an impressionistic exploration of the connection between personality, identity, celebrity and art. There are deliberate rough edges here and third-rail examinations of sex, race, gender, addiction and psychological dysfunction. Billie Holiday made no apologies for who she was or how she lived. In these poems, Joel Peckham, evokes her rich and vibrant personality with a music and passion worthy of his subject.