You Get What You Pay For: Essays

Every time I read Morgan Parker's work it feels incomparably cathartic. My upbringing being very similar to hers, her anger feeling very adjacent to mine, her words offer a sense of validation for the black girl who grew up in the clutches of the white suburb. Much like the contents of her poems, these essays offered insight that felt as though it could've come from deep inside myself. Sentiments lying dormant within me, written down for me to recognize from within.

This collection fuses the deeply personal, and the sociopolitical as it relates to the personal, as essays delivered from the memory of the slave ship. As the book begins to wrap up, the relevance of the title, "You Get What You Pay For" becomes evident. The significance of reparations, what that means, and what the author thinks that should look like, becomes a central discussion. While I can't say that I'm necessarily on board with her proposal, I certainly understand the ideas that caused Parker to land on this conclusion. I agree that we are not free until our minds are free. I guess I just don't believe that freedom of the mind actually liberates us in a system that doesn't truly value wellness beyond an avenue for profit.

I think I need to consciously seek out more essay collections written by poets because that seems like a real sweet spot for my literary tastes. Like I don't usually prefer to read just collections of poetry but I love it when someone has a poet's skill for language but they use it for prose.

This was sooo striking. At times challenging to read as she grapples with the intergenerational trauma inflicted by slavery in America but so worth the time invested. I will definitely be seeking out more of her writing.