"DiVida stands as a timeless presence burdened by the injustices of systemic racism. Her power is rooted in black women's ability, born of necessity, to inhabit their bodies in multiple ways."
--Publishers Weekly

"DiVida: divided? DiVida: of life? The imaginary character who carries the name and sings her life is both DiVida and Sapphire, who sometimes replies to her musings, as one voice speaking for a universe of black women. Like syncopated masks, the voices of Hand's book offer a new sense of double-consciousness. Her untimely death at the zenith of her career lends the last few poems, which anticipate death, a special fullness and poignancy."
--Marilyn Nelson

"Monica Hand was brave. She headed into language with an arsenal of knowledge, curiosity, rage, desire and came out with the spoils. DiVida is a collection showcasing her deep knowledge of American culture and contemporary poetics with her authoritative use of the Black vernacular, as she crosses boundaries of race, gender, class in search of a liberated self. That she riffs John Berryman's Dream Songs is but one of her many transgressions. Orgasmic, self-lacerating, wicked-ass funny (oh Sapphire), these poems add to the powerful, blues driven truths of me and Nina. With this posthumous collection, Alice James has done her legacy well."
--Patricia Spears Jones