<div><b>With its defiance for any one tradition or voice, Thomas Sayers Ellis's debut becomes a powerful argument against monotony</b><br><br><i> A dream. A democracy. A savage liberty.</i><br><i> And yet another anthem and yet another heaven</i><br><i>and yet another party wants you.</i><br><i> Wants you wants you wants you.</i><br><br>—from “Groovallegiance”<br><br><br>In one poem, Thomas Sayers Ellis prognosticates, “Pretty soon, the Age of the Talk Show / Will slip on a peel left in the avant- gutter.” The result is <i>The Maverick Room</i>, the testing ground of determination and serendipity, where call-and-response becomes Steinian echo becomes Post-Soul percussive pleasure becomes a bootlegged recording hustled out of a D.C. go-go club.<br></div>