Queen of Non Sequiturs​

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In this groundbreaking collection, Nik Nicholson presents a masterful exploration of poetic experimentation and cultural resonance. The collection represents years of artistic evolution, featuring poems that sometimes approach the same themes from different angles—each version capturing a distinct moment in the poet's development. These carefully curated pieces showcase not just different periods of writing but different voices, different techniques, and different ways of seeing.

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Nicholson's work demonstrates particular mastery of the Kwansaba, a seven-line poem with specific constraints that originated in East St. Louis, her hometown. This form, with its deep roots in Black cultural expression, becomes a vehicle for both tradition and innovation in her hands. Yet she moves with equal confidence through free verse and paragraph-style poems, never allowing structure to overshadow substance.

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Queen of Non Sequiturs reads like a carefully curated vinyl collection, each piece selected not just for its individual merit but for how it contributes to the whole. Nicholson approaches poetry with the ear of a musician, the heart of a storyteller, and the soul of a cultural preservationist. Her experiments with form and style reveal a writer deeply engaged with both craft and feeling, someone who understands that rules exist to be both respected and reimagined.

 

The collection showcases Nicholson's evolution as a poet, featuring works from different periods of her development, each maintaining its own integrity while contributing to a larger narrative about growth, experimentation, and artistic discovery. Some poems appear in multiple versions, like different takes of the same song, each capturing a unique mood or perspective.

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Throughout the collection, Nicholson's voice remains authentically rooted in Black American vernacular, celebrating the language and rhythms of her culture while pushing the boundaries of poetic expression. Her work moves effortlessly between structured forms and free-flowing verse, between traditional approaches and experimental techniques, always guided by the twin stars of emotional truth and artistic innovation.

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This is more than just a collection of poems—it's a testament to the power of persistent experimentation, cultural celebration, and artistic growth. Through these carefully selected works, Nicholson invites readers into a world where rules are both honored and challenged, where tradition meets innovation, and where every poem opens a new door to understanding both the art form and ourselves.