I tried many times to write about the hunger of my parent’s relationship and failed. It is one thing to carry my parent’s truths inside me, as flawed as they may have been. It is another to make a poem, to find the right language with which I could situate their desires within the complicated history of American racism, a history that keeps bringing us all to our knees.
Jamaica Baldwin on "Forbidden" |
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| | | Join us this evening, February 19, at 8pm ET for the continuation of our series of conversations with poet-translators, featuring Margaret Noodin, Raquel Salas Rivera, Jeffrey Angles, Laura Marris and Tracy K. Smith. |
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"Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Years in Lockdown"
"For in creating this virtual presence Barrett Browning went further than just building a form of personal freedom. In 1844 she published Poems, the book that consolidated her reputation and would lead to her nomination for poet laureate....It also ushered in her modernising style, with its conversational language, story-telling drive—and ethical imperatives."
via THE GUARDIAN |
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| | Poetry Daily stands with the Black community.
We oppose racism, oppression, and police brutality.
We will continue to amplify diverse voices in the poetry world.
Black Lives Matter. |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Tracy K. Smith on "Black Hair"
"Working on the poem, I saw clearly how the recurring image of black hair signifies within the specific context of Asian femininity, and yet in my hands—in my mouth—the phrase 'black hair' began to make space for a second set of values and vulnerabilities as informed by my racially specific experience." |
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