Saeed Jones, a good poet who championed good poetry as the culture editor at Buzzfeed for several years, has poured his talent for writing exuberantly about the most painful shit imaginable into his debut memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives. Press materials and a growing number of rave reviews tell me Jones focuses this book on the trials and triumphs of life as a gay black man in America. It's also apparently a paean to his mom. Hard not to get behind either mission. And if his nonfiction is as searing and surprising as his poetry, then he'll likely scoop up one or two of the major awards for which this book has already been nominated. by Rich Smith