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.