"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)
"An eclectic mix of Black experiences fills this unmatched anthology that features both modern poets, such as Nikki Giovanni and Ibi Zoboi, and 'the brilliant Black poets who are now ancestors'... A fresh canon for poetry studies."--ALA Booklist (starred review)
"An excellent collection of poetry that is an insightful read on the Black experience"--School and Library Journal
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 father's birth.
What exactly is it to be Black in America?
Well, for some, it's learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, it's unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold one's swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, it's 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 auntie's spectacular 7Up cake.
Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vast--they stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deep--and carry more than just unimaginable pain--there 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.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!
Byas, Taylor: -
Taylor Byas is 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 chapbooks Bloodwarm and Shutter and her debut full-length collection, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times. She is also a coeditor of The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume X: Alabama.
Martin, Erica: -
Erica Martin is 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 by Oprah Daily and 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 watching The Vampire Diaries for the millionth time.
McBride, Amber: -
Amber McBride's debut YA novel in verse, Me (Moth), was a National Book Award finalist and Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award winner. She is the author of the bestselling novels Onyx & Beyond, Gone Wolf, We Are All So Good at Smiling, and the poetry collections Poemhood: Our Black Revival (four starred reviews) and Thick with Trouble. She received her MFA in poetry from Emerson College, and her poetry has appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Provincetown Arts, Willow Springs, the Cincinnati Review, and the Rumpus. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Visit her at authorsunbound.com/amber-mcbride.
