POETRY THAT DOESN’T APOLOGIZE

BOOKS INCLUDED

Are You Ready to Love Yourself a Black Man? by Kris Godspeed Amos

Exposed. Vulnerable. Words that describe the poetry in Kris Godspeed Amos's collection, but certainly not the only one: Love. Survival.Perseverance. These too stand out."Are you Ready to Love yourself a Black Man?" allows us, readers of literature/purveyors of society a direct view of our relationships with African-American men. The collection, short in pages, is full of depth and deep introspection on concepts such as mental health issues, relationship and family conflict, and intracultural strife, to systematic oppression, racism, prejudice, and sexism. Amos explores his observations, contributions, and position on these topics.Built with lyric in mind, the underbelly of each poem is rhythm. This beat tells the story of the Black Man, and his relationship with the world. Completely relevant and in desperate need of reflection by a society that still hasn't fully experienced the love of a man of color, Are you Ready to Love yourself a Black Man? is meant to be read by all regardless of color, race, religion, sex, or gender.It is a book designed to start conversations and discussions on the topic that matters most: humanity is universal.

We Grow Tomatoes in Tiny Towns by Jeremy Jusek

WE GROW TOMATOES IN TINY TOWNS is an homage to rural living. This poetry collection meanders through the spiritual fabric that holds communities together, acutely aware of the practical approach to life that’s commonplace among small town residents. Fiercely loyal to the enduring nature of Garrettsville's distinctly American spirit yet honest in its assessment of the village's social fabric, Jeremy explores the pros and cons of knowing everyone on a first-name basis.

Biography of a Body by Lizz Schumer

BIOGRAPHY OF A BODY is a lyrical meander through the development of a messy, flawed, imperfect human and what it means to live in a society that both pulls a person into itself and fiercely pushes back. In personal essays and snippets of verse that shift back and forth through time and place, it fidgets with the puzzle pieces of a life that are at once starkly unique and glaringly obvious. The narrator probes the influence of religion on a person’s psychological development, how the legacy of traditional femininity works their way under her skin, and the many pitfalls of living in a body that doesn’t always conform to expectations, both from within and the world pressing on it. Follow the narrator as she grapples with an eating disorder that threatens to consume her body and soul, undergoes a sexual awakening that reverberates through her social structure and understanding of herself, tries to find her place in a world where the rules are always changing, and fumbles to understand how much of her personhood is a compilation of outside influences she can barely pinpoint, and how much is wholly her own. This is less a narrative than a trail of breadcrumbs through an experience, where strange things whisper from the shadows and draw the reader into the dappled darkness. Readers will find themselves wandering along with her, grasping onto vivid insights and suggestions of feelings that will stay with them until long after the last page is turned.

In the Bodies by Jericho M. Hockett

IN THE BODIES is a collection of poetry for shapeshifting. The poems investigate possibilities of mutual transformation, as our relational encounters with others co-create meaning, poetry, environment, and even our bodies. What might we co-create when we press against the taught borders of body, of place, of time, of what is accepted as possible and holy? These poems press, inviting readers to get in the bodies of other creatures, people, and places—to taste what melts their tongues, feel their bone breaks, cry through their eyes, sense the world rotating through their dirt and updrafts, shift shape, and maybe sprout new growth together in shared gardens.

Radiant Wound by Cara Waterfall

RADIANT WOUND is both an anthem and a lament, a poetic exploration of life between cultures, languages, and the landscapes of Côte d'Ivoire. In this debut collection, Cara Waterfall captures the vibrant textures and deep dissonances of life abroad after the Second Ivorian Civil War, navigating the complex experience of being a geographical, cultural, and linguistic outsider. Her verses take readers through striking scenes: from the crocodile-guarded presidential palace in Yamoussoukro and the colonial past of Grand-Bassam to the intimate spaces of a woodcarver’s studio and the Gbangbo River, where the laundrymen wash clothes.