

Sans Merci, Shepherd University
2010 edition review by melissa bierly (susquehanna university ’14) and dana diehl (susquehanna university ’12) Sans Merci “She was born a fine piece of ebony / That grew tall and healthy in the fertile soil of her tropical / mother’s womb.” With these haunting lines begins “Her Father, the Craftsman” by Lashawn Tolston. Tolston’s language draws us in, invoking the reassuring warmth of motherhood, while raising questions that allude to darker significance: Why ebony? Why like