p1United DisorderBy Elizabeth WillisWhat direction does your sentence move: you belonging to the land or the land belonging to you.This ...Social Commentaries
p1Beverly Hills, ChicagoBy Gwendolyn BrooksThe dry brown coughing beneath their feet,(Only a while, for the handyman is on his way)These people...Social CommentariesClass
p1Memorial to Ed BlandBy Gwendolyn Brooks He grew up being curious And thinking things are various. Nothing was merely deleterious Or spurious...Social CommentariesWar & Conflict
p1POLICEBy Nicolás GuillénThis animal calls itself police.Whistling plantigrade.Varieties: the English, Sherlock. (Pipe.)Carter...Social Commentaries
p1POLICÍABy Nicolás GuillénEste animal se llama policía.Plantígrado soplador.Variedades: la inglesa, sherlock. (Pipa).Carter, la...Social Commentaries
p1LYNCHBy Nicolás GuillénLynch from Alabama.Tailpiece in the form of a whipand three-pointed hooves.Tends to appearwith a great...Social Commentaries
p1LYNCHBy Nicolás Guillén Lynch de Alabama. Rabo en forma de látigo y pezuñas terciarias. Suele manifestarse con una gran cruz...Social Commentaries
p1A Coin Is a Map to a BeheadingBy Elizabeth WillisThe vulnerability of the figurehead is at the center of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting of Charles I:...Social Commentaries
p1Object RelationsBy Elizabeth WillisThe shipwrecked man creates a monarchy of one. When he sees a footprint, he panics. He has to keep writing...Social Commentaries
p1Travel Plaza BrochureBy Heather Christle Men as a subject Oof They are hard to believe in They fax prose out of their mouths When they are pleased...Social Commentaries
25 days after I am bornBy Remica Bingham-Rishera man is killed in Mobile, Alabama. It is 1981, nearest what some will call the last lynching in America...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingDeathRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsAnxiety & InsecurityGratitude + 2 more
I am trying to carve out a world where people are not the sum total of their disasterBy Remica Bingham-RisherBut for the grace of Godone might begin andthis must be the life of a woman. I will barely touch the...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityTown & Country LifeLivingLife ChoicesThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFamily & Ancestors + 2 more
GratitudeBy Cornelius EadyI’m here to tell you an old story. ThisAppears to be my work. I live in the world,Walk the streets of...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityLivingLife ChoicesThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraConfessionalMetaphorAngerGratitude + 13 more
After the 1916 FilmBy Karisma PriceThe Realization of a Negro’s Ambition requires melatonin & the soft dying body of a monkey face orchid...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingSorrow & GrievingGrief
BlackbottomBy Toi DerricotteWhen relatives came from out of town,we would drive down to Blackbottom,drive slowly down the congested...Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityThe MindDoubt & ContemplationAnxiety & Insecurity
I’m a Fool to Love YouBy Cornelius EadySome folks will tell you the blues is a woman,Some type of supernatural creature.My mother would tell...LoveBreak-ups & Vexed LoveRealistic & ComplicatedSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityRace & EthnicityLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMen & WomenArts & SciencesMusicMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 11 more
Reader, IBy Corey Van Landinghamwas, according to Virgil, always a fickle, unstable thing. Woman. Wyf. Merger of wife and man. To indicate: not-girl. Not...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingSorrow & GrievingMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyDisappointmentGrief
The Part About Fate or CounterpointBy Sylvia ChanI want to begin this poem with two stories:1. In 1984, my mother was pulled over for speeding in a rural...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityHistory & PoliticsLivingThe Body
p1Leandra MichaelsBy Brandon YoungMy father said to me once your only choices are the factories. Oil stains or the selfsame bruises. No...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityRelationshipsLGBTQ+
p1Kimberley JohnsonBy Brandon YoungOh, don’t worry, we will let our hair down tonight— but first we must remember on this stage, the queen...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityRelationshipsLGBTQ+