Once a City Said

A Louisville Poets Anthology edited by Joy Priest, Horsepower poet and winner of the Donald Hall Prize for Poetry.In this multi-generational anthology, 37 living poets from Louisville archive the traditions and icons, landmarks and spirits, portraits and memories most personal to this shared place. Once a City Said takes the River City's narrative out of the mouths of politicians, news anchors and police chiefs, and puts it into the mouths of poets-those ancient storyteller griots. What emerges is an intimate report of the socioeconomic circumstances of a city misshapen by segregation, a growing tourism industry, and subsequent ruptures in the public trust. In this collection of versifiers, each voice is just one in a community choir singing neglected stories and new visionary songs.