Poetry. African American Studies. This is the second collection of poetry by eminent scholar, actor and director, William W. Cook, who is a professor of English and African and Afro-American Studies at Dartmouth College. I have heard the thunder/ More than once/ And I have not slept too much/ In this world./ Sitting here/ Talking to you/ Is the best proof/ In the world/ That I don't lie (from Mabel Lincoln's Blues). William W. Cook's beautifully direct, speech-inflected writing has been broadcast on National Public Radio and widely published in journals.