"This collection demands attention and introspection by offering a raw yet eloquent portrayal of the intersections of history, identity, and systemic oppression. It's an essential read for people seeking to honor the complexity of the experiences of Black Americans."--Jessica Calaway "Library Journal"

"In this engaging new collection of poetry, Therí Alyce Pickens demonstrates that she is a poet of depth, range, and often incisive humor. Her poems are a revelation."--John Keene, author of "Punks: New and Selected Poems"

"What Had Happened Was is a daring poet's debut. First and foremost, I want to praise Therí Alyce Pickens's collection for its unflinching attention to the nuances of--and everyday sorts of elaborate formal play embedded in--African American vernacular. It's truly refreshing, and energizing, to see the dynamism of Black linguistic expression live a full life in contemporary American poetry this way. It's all here. Love and loss, theory and autobiography, the ordinary and the transcendent."--Joshua Bennett, author of "Spoken Word: A Cultural History"

"Few debut poetry books are long awaited. Without a doubt, What Had Happened Was is. When you work tirelessly and patiently to master your art--with skill, wisdom, and an abundance of imagination--it reads like this."--Hayan Charara, author of "These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit: Poems"

"In her constantly surprising and deftly built poems, Therí Alyce Pickens enacts a poetics that refuses binaries, attends to and extends the power of Black art, and centers a body navigating illness. Pickens seamlessly moves through and braids memory, history, pop culture. The language is precise and remarkable; it will engage and entangle you in marvelous ways---as will the formally inventive poems and the structure itself. Pickens has written an electric first book. The poems are still sparking in my mind."--Eduardo C. Corral, author of "Guillotine: Poems"