Margins
Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah book cover
Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah
2012
First Published
4.47
Average Rating
122
Number of Pages

Winner of 2013 Wheatley Book Award in Poetry Finalist for 2013 William Carlos Williams Award Winner of 2014 Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry "Patricia Smith is writing some of the best poetry in America today. Ms Smith’s new book, Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah, is just beautiful—and like the America she embodies and represents—dangerously beautiful. Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah is a stunning and transcendent work of art, despite, and perhaps because of, its pain. This book shines." —Sapphire "One of the best poets around and has been for a long time." —Terrance Hayes "Smith's work is direct, colloquial, inclusive, adventuresome." —Gwendolyn Brooks In her newest collection, Patricia Smith explores the second wave of the Great Migration. Shifting from spoken word to free verse to traditional forms, she reveals "that soul beneath the vinyl." Patricia Smith is the author of five volumes of poetry, including Blood Dazzler, a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, and Teahouse of the Almighty, a National Poetry Series selection. She lives in New Jersey.

Avg Rating
4.47
Number of Ratings
262
5 STARS
59%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
10%
2 STARS
1%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith
Author · 15 books
Called “a testament to the power of words to change lives,” Patricia Smith is a renaissance artist of unmistakable signature, recognized as a force in the fields of poetry, playwriting, fiction, performance and creative collaboration.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved