<p>In <em>Proof of Existence</em> Phyllis Becker explores her African American family's history from 19th century Fitchburg Massachusetts to her own coming of age in Kansas City. Ancestors and relatives like her great aunts Katherine a stage performer and Ruth a missionary to Liberia defied conventional expectations of their times. She comes to recognize how the courage and creativity of her forbears helped set her on her own artistic path as a poet.</p>