Poetry. These poems were written in memory of Buddy Gray, grassroots activist and co-founder of the National Coalition for the Homeless, shot by a former client a decade ago in Cincinnati. Some of them deal directly with Gray and his murder, while others address the nature of exploitation, poverty, and greed; homelessness and its effect on the spirit; and the sacrifice necessary to create a common voice. In his invocation the poet calls on the spirits of past heroes and artists, whose voices echo throughout the book. In the poems themselves, a pair of watchful crows counts the changes in the work. CROW CALL can be read either as a meditation on injustice or an elegy in the tradition of "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed" and "Kaddish." However it is read, it touches the heart.

Michael Henson, musician, is a counselor in chemical dependency at Talbert House and for the Drop In Center. A poet and essayist himself, he is the winner of the 2002 Jack Kerouac Poetry Prize for poems later published in "Crow Call," an extended elegy for his friend, Over-the-Rhine activist Buddy Gray. His column, "Hammered: Essays on Poverty and Addiction," appears monthly in "StreetVibes." John Ray, director, is co-founder of TS&M Productions ("Wanda Wilde: Christmas on the Edge," "The Gomorrah-a-Go-Go Club") and a playwright.