This 2016 novel was my first introduction to Crystal Wilkinson, who later served as Kentucky’s poet laureate from 2021-23. It turned me into a huge fan and I’ve followed her work ever since. This sweeping intergenerational story about mental illness, female friendship, survival, and secrets follows four generations of women in the Goode-Brown family who live in the small town of Opulence, Kentucky. In lush prose, Wilkinson reveals how each woman is dealing with her own form of trauma as they all come of age and watch their mothers and grandmothers pass away. I cared deeply about these characters and couldn’t help but root for them.

From the publisher: "Crystal Wilkinson combines a deep love for her rural roots with a passion for language and storytelling in this compelling collection of poetry and prose about girlhood, racism, and political awakening, imbued with vivid imagery of growing up in Southern Appalachia. In Perfect Black, the acclaimed writer muses on such topics as motherhood, the politics of her Black body, lost fathers, mental illness, sexual abuse, and religion. It is a captivating conversation about life, love, loss, and pain, interwoven with striking illustrations by her long-time partner, Ronald W. Davis."