Poetry

Winner of the 23rd annual PoulinPrize Chaun Ballard's gripping debut collection weaves childhood experiences, historical events, and family stories into a living tapestry of memory thatcelebrates the landscape of Black America, both rural and urban...

This is what comes of taking dreams / off the horizon. It is the sun / or nothing else, you would scream / if you weren't caught up in the chorus.Leaning deliberately on the imagined while scrutinizing reality and hoping for the as-yet-unseen, UNMET is a...

Winner of the 23rd annualA. Poulin, Jr. Poetry PrizeChaun Ballard's gripping debut collection weaves childhood experiences, historical events, and family stories into a living tapestry of memory thatcelebrates the landscape of Black America, both rural...

Janae Johnson's debut poetry collection explores the notion of being tenderheaded, going beyond Black hair to explore the ways we mask pain.Originally inspired by women's basketball, the book evolves into a poignant coming-of-age narrative centered...

Within the pages of Counting Descent a captivating coming-of-age narrative unfolds - that challenges, complicates, and ultimately enriches our understanding of lineage, tradition, and the multifaceted nature of identity.In the intricate tapestry of...

SOUTHERN MIGRANT MIXTAPE relays the experiences and observations of a black, queer man from Virginia who thought he was leaving racism and sexual intolerance behind in the regions where he initially experienced them. Plunge heart first into this emotive...

The poetry of America's first published black poet was published before the Revolutionary War and recognized throughout the English-speaking world. Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa, sold as a slave in America, and became a celebrity in Europe. This...

SON OF BYFORD is a meandering mining of meaning from the memory of many middle passages. This collection refracts 1970's shades of Black and blues that give way to hip hop, postmillennium tensions, and godless queer queryings, informed by love,...

Rooted in a legacy of social movements for change, East Oakland youth and students from Urban Promise Academy in the Fruitvale district have created a social justice club known as Warriors for Justice. Over the last five years, they have compiled...

There is a rhythmic rapidity to Uche Nduka's SCISSORWORK, the work of relentlessly cutting at the barrage of sensory data coming at us, leaving the syntax between dense blocks of text and epigrammatic and occasionally even whimsical poems, like paper...

Poetry. African & African American Studies. Longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award in Poetry. Like a ghost in the machine, TRAVESTY GENERATOR remixes programming codes and turns them to ruminate on the intersections of race and gender. Rhythmic,...

Everyone understands that life is hard, but self-love and dedication will always be the key. becoming. is a beautiful debut collection of poetry centering around themes of feminism, sexuality, race, and mental health. Renaada Williams's 100+ poems are...