I picked up this book thinking I would read maybe one or two
pages a day, but once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down.
Marvin’s words were like food to my soul. "Last Rights"
took me on an emotional journey, through my childhood, through my
adolescent years, into adulthood. These poems hit me in the gut,
touching areas of blackness, gayness, and the unique way HIV/AIDS
have affected our community.
His poems varied on different subjects of being black, gay, and
growing up in our times. "Last Rights" also appealed to
me because of the range of the different types of gay people the
subject dealt with. The media tends to stereotype, and usually we’re
thrown into one box. Marvin had something for everyone to identify
with, from queens to butch, from transgender, to straight identify.
My favorites, to name a few are, "That Thing", a powerful
poem that portrays our community as it is, putting into a few words
how, because of fear, we can’t even bring ourselves to say HIV/AIDS.
Some more of my favorites are "Oakland 94609", and
"The Unburying".
His writings took you into the clubs, the cruising parks, the ho
stroll, and on a visual tours into the private lives of real people.
"Last Rights" is necessary have for your collection and library.
