The oems of Carmen Gimenez Smith, politically aware and feminist-oriented, focus on general cultural references rather than a sentimental personal narrative. She speaks of sexual politics and family in a fierce, determined tone voracious in its opinions about freedom and responsibility. The author engages in mythology and art history, musically wooing the reader with texture and voice.

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist Milk and Filth is a collection of forty-two poems exploring issues of gender, equality, sexuality and the artist-as-thinker in modern culture. Deftly blending a variety of tones, styles, and structure, Giménez Smith's poems evocatively explores deep cultural issues.