Praise for The Beloved Community"These poems could easily sag under the weight of their grief, yet Jones' short, sharp-talking lines, staccato sentences, and light-on-feet litanies propel the reader down the paths she has paved. "–Arden Levine, Under a Warm Green Linden"Spears Jones's imagistic internationalist, docu-political sentences resemble conversation but stop you in your tracks."–Diane Mehta, Electric LitPraise for Patricia Spears Jones"Jones's poems, written during the past two decades, vibrate with a noticeable hunger and irresistible energy, unashamed to explore the nuances of intimacy via the looming specters of pop culture and history." –Publishers Weekly"Poems like stars in a constellation: each glowing point connects in a pattern charting lives full of love and disappointment, injustice and defeat, joy and resilience."–Library Journal"Patricia Spears Jones's poems are like homecomings–in her pages the sights and smells, rhythms and caresses of many lives waft up from Memphis and Manhattan...." –Thulani Davis"A world where music and brains are allowed to co-exist with instinct, where the lyrics and the literal may dwell without eyeing the other with suspicion." –Cornelius Eady"Jones returns to her source, a steady presence of desire, pleasure (fun!), and beauty as literally lifesaving." –BOMB Magazine"No matter what the risk, Jones is not afraid to touch." –Arkansas Review"A lyric collection that is engaging, honest, and with sprinkles of delightful humor." –Tribes"These are the careful insights of a woman who has experienced and noticed more tragic scenes." –Black Issues Book Review