I have been sitting with this collection for over a year. I got lost in writing this review, reading and rereading as a fan of the poet and person that soledad con carne is.

Let’s kick off the review: A clear, brilliant voice repping THEE 818—California’s San Fernando Valley—SFV OR DIE, Foo (Lilac Press, 2024) is a fantasm of Valley stories, family, and self. con carne’s work highlights the beauty of the hood. As an Angeleno, this collection feels like home because it knows the comfort of the yellow line, the beauty of a liquor store, and how color-struck men of color will “crucify you for a white girl’s approval.”

Much like the Valley itself, SFV OR DIE, Foo is sprawling, contradictory, and unforgettable—punk, tender, and necessary.

What elevates this collection to something truly special is its refusal to flatten the Valley into stereotype. Instead, con carne gives us complexity: joy alongside violence, intimacy alongside alienation, humor cutting through grief. The voice is unapologetic, inventive, and deeply felt, capturing a world that is so often overlooked with care and urgency.

This is a collection that doesn’t just represent the Valley—it embodies it. Raw, rhythmic, and resonant, SFV OR DIE, Foo demands to be read, shared, and returned to.

London Pinkney, Editor-in-Chief