Aaron Steele

Blackward Aaron Steele

Published nearly two decades after taking on the challenge of step-fatherhood to a beautiful, ethnically diverse young girl, this poetic journey describes a personal struggle with faith, race, and cultural appropriation. The central themes explored in these daydreams reflect the tensions of uncertain love, the pressures to adapt, and the pursuit of self-identity. By moving Blackward, the poet amends his inexorably white worldview and embraces the advantages of an enlightened, multicultural perspective.