Young Adult Poetry Anthology

RELEASE DATE: 1/30/2024(WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER’S WAREHOUSE)

“A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)”

This deep and complex assemblage of Black poetry culminates in a joyful, painful, and emotionally rich experience.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!

Starring thirty-seven poets, with contributions from acclaimed authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ibi Zoboi, and Nikki Giovanni, this breathtaking Black YA poetry anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin celebrates Black poetry, folklore, and culture.

Come, claim your wings.

Lift your life above the earth,return to the land of your fathers birth.

What exactly is it to be Black in America?

Well, for some, its learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, its unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold ones swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, its gathering around the kitchen table as Grandma tells the story of Anansi the spider, while for others it’s grinning from ear to ear while eating aunties spectacular 7Up cake.

Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vastthey stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deepand carry more than just unimaginable painthere is also joy.

Featuring an all-star group of thirty-seven powerful poetic voices, including such luminaries as Kwame Alexander, James Baldwin, Ibi Zoboi, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks, this riveting anthology depicts the diversity of the Black experience by fostering a conversation about race, faith, heritage, and resilience between fresh poets and the literary ancestors that came before them.

Edited by Taylor Byas, Erica Martin, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Amber McBride, Poemhood will simultaneously highlight the duality and nuance at the crux of so many Black experiences with poetry being the psalm constantly playing.

CONTRIBUTOR BIO:

Amber McBrideis currently an assistant professor at the University of Virginia. She received her MFA in poetry from Emerson College in 2012. She also served as the media assistant at the Furious Flower Poetry Center. Her poetry has appeared in various literary magazines, includingPloughshares,Provincetown Arts,Willow Springs, theCincinnati Review, theRumpus, and others. She has been nominated twice for Best on the Net awards. Her debut YA novel in verse,Me (Moth),was a finalist for the Morris Award and National Book Award in Children’s Literature and won the John Steptoe-Coretta Scott King Award. Her sophomore novel in verse,We Are All So Good at Smiling,received four starred reviews.

Erica Martinis a freelance editor and a poet. Her debut poetry collection,And We Rise, was an ABA Indies Introduce selection as well as an ABA Indie Next pick. She has been featured byOprah Dailyand enjoys making a difference in the world through political activism, reading, and writing. When she’s not reading and writing, you can find her editing, baking pies, or watchingThe Vampire Diariesfor the millionth time.

Taylor Byasis a Black Chicago native currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the first-place winner of the 2020 Poetry Super Highway, the 2020 Frontier Poetry Award for New Poets, and the 2021 Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry. She is the author of the chapbooksBloodwarmandShutterand her debut full-length collection,I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times. She is also a coeditor of the forthcomingThe Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume X: Alabama.