Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to the editors at publications in which portions of this book first appeared, including Jodee Stanley at Ninth Letter, Juliana Kruis at Redivider, Brianna Van Dyke at Ruminate, Brianne Carpenter at Sycamore Review, Desirae Matherly at the Tusculum Review, and Bill Henderson, who edits the Pushcart anthology.

Very special thanks to Amy Caldwell, my wonderful editor, and Matt McGowan, my incredibly supportive agent. Without their passion, support, and guidance, this book would not have been possible. I’m also grateful to the entire team at Beacon Press for their support, especially Helene Atwan, Susan Lumenello, Pamela MacColl, Molly Velázquez-Brown, and Perpetua Charles. Beacon Press is a national treasure, and I can’t think of a better home for this book.

Thanks to everyone who read these pages in various forms and offered feedback, including Martha Serpas, Alexander Parsons, Nick Flynn, j. Kastely, Antonya Nelson, Robert Boswell, Mat Johnson, Briana Olson, Jason Bruner, Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, and Tom Huang. Special thanks to Kimberly Meyer, whose encouragement over the past nine years has meant everything to me. I’m also grateful to Leslie Leyland Fields, Lia Purpura, Leslie Jamison, and Steven Church for seeing the potential in my work and selecting early material for various prizes.

Thanks to the University of Houston, Inprint, the Houston Arts Alliance, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Wild Acres residency program, and the West Africa Research Association, which made it possible for me to travel to Nigeria in the summer of 2010.

Thanks to everyone who supported my research, including Hosam Aboul-Ela, Gary Foxcroft, Tony Fadele, James Fadele, J. D. Y. Peel, Elias Bongmba, Kairn Klieman, Sam Itauma, Adeyemi Johnson Ademowo, Matthews Ojo, Leo Igwe, Ademola Omobewaji Dasylva, Isaac Ayegboyin, and Toyin Jegede.

I’m also grateful to the many friends who gave me the courage to claim my story, especially Sasha Pitrof, Jennifer Meridian, Michelle Mariano, Aja Gabel, Rhianna Tyson Kreger, Ayleen Pérez Cordeiro, Kenya Bradshaw, Corey Noll, Christine Ha, Thea Lim, and Claire Anderson.

Very special thanks to my husband, Jacob Reimer, my first and best reader, and my son, Silas, who has brought so much joy to my life.

Most of all, thanks to my beloved family: Bo, Anne, Obere, Sam, and Joshua Wilbanks.