An activist and artist examines policing, incarceration and trauma — through poetry
Latino poet Christopher Soto, in "Diaries of a Terrorist" re-examines policing and incarceration through poetry, drawing on his experiences as a Salvadoran in L.A.
The written word and its power have long fascinated poet Christopher Soto. “I started writing poetry in the first grade,” he said, “so I always knew I wanted to write. Basically, writing has been an obsession for me.”
Soto, 31, is garnering widespread praise for his debut poetry collection, “Diaries of a Terrorist,” that takes on violence, policing and trauma.
“The heart of the book is to create a world without policing and human caging,” said Soto, who identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns he/they. “As poets, we are daydreamers, the people who imagine the world as we want it to be.”
"Diaries of a Terrorist" by Christopher Soto.Courtesy of Copper Canyon Press Sometimes described as an abolitionist, Soto writes in one poem:
Dear police
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