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          POETRY / American / African American

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          The Promise of Language

          The Promise of Language

          A Memoir

          by Keith Gilyard

          Series edited by Melba Joyce Boyd

          Price: $26.99

          ISBN: 9780814351949

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: January 2025

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          166 Pages

          Each encounter brings clarity and a new lens through which to understand the world, revealing how language shapes our lives and how our lives shape language.

          Holy Ghost Key

          Holy Ghost Key

          by Joshua Myers

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713314

          Publisher: Broadside Press

          Publication Date: February 2024

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Broadside Press

          92 Pages

          Though many of the poems pay tribute to the genius of contemporary musicians who have won popular acclaim, the entire collection reminds of a persistent African ancestral legacy.

          The Second Stop Is Jupiter

          The Second Stop Is Jupiter

          by upfrumsumdirt

          Price: $19.99

          ISBN: 9780814350539

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: September 2023

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          144 Pages

          Titles like "The Death of Olympiaand "The Three Sulasset the tone for this collection to manifest a Pan-Africanist poetics entwined with themes of Classical Romanticism.

          The Orchestra of Wind Chimes

          The Orchestra of Wind Chimes

          by Geoffrey Jacques

          Price: $17.99

          ISBN: 9780814350386

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: March 2023

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          104 Pages

          Through these poems, Jacques has achieved a balance between form and function, allowing readers to embark on a rhythmic journey of expression, language, and human existence.

          House and Home

          House and Home

          by Sheri Flowers Anderson

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713307

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2023

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          82 Pages

          This is poetry that grounds us, brings us home, so to speak, while initiating us into the magic that brightens and coheres our intimate lives.

          Stilettos in a Rifle Range

          Stilettos in a Rifle Range

          by Tyrone Williams

          Price: $17.99

          ISBN: 9780814350188

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: December 2022

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          80 Pages

          Williams’s language in particular is an intralingual love affair that all will enjoy.

          Body Not My Own

          Body Not My Own

          by Tanque R. Jones

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713291

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2021

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          81 Pages

          These powerful poems offer insight into the historic resolve, self-determination and resilience of the enslaved African community.

          You Are My Joy and Pain

          You Are My Joy and Pain

          Love Poems

          by Naomi Long Madgett

          Price: $17.99

          ISBN: 9780814348017

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: October 2020

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          80 Pages

          Readers will identify with the hope and disappointment that Madgett presents in these poems.

          Am-Phib-Ian

          Am-Phib-Ian

          by Jessica Lanay

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713284

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2020

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          300 Pages

          This collection is the story of a spirit determined to survive the journey—appropriating in the effort whatever available tools and attributes—human or amphibian.

          Blues Legacy

          Blues Legacy

          by Jacquese Armstrong

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713277

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2019

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          384 Pages

          While the poet honors this ancestral past, she points to the future, appealing to African American women especially to empower themselves, and step confidently into their roles as community torchbearers.

          Broad Sympathies in a Narrow World

          Broad Sympathies in a Narrow World

          The Legacy of W.e.b. Du Bois

          by Sandra Staton-Taiwo

          Price: $20.00

          ISBN: 9780940713260

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2018

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          302 Pages

          Readers will be challenged and delighted by Staton-Taiwo's rich, sophisticated perspectives and artistry.

          The Forgetting Tree

          The Forgetting Tree

          A Rememory

          by Rae Paris

          Price: $18.99

          ISBN: 9780814344262

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: April 2017

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          160 Pages

          A perfect blend of prose, poetry, and images, The Forgetting Tree is a unique and thought-provoking collection that argues for a deeper understanding of past and present so that we might imagine a more hopeful, sustainable, and loving future.

          Heathen

          Heathen

          by R. Flowers Rivera

          Price: $18.00

          ISBN: 9780979750991

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: February 2015

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          128 Pages

          This is an extremely satisfying collection of poems that invite the reader to return to it again and again.

          Privacy Issues

          Privacy Issues

          by Austin Alexis

          Price: $18.00

          ISBN: 9780979750984

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: January 2014

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          112 Pages

          Privacy Issues is an emotionally and intellectually stimulating first book by the winner of the 2014 Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award.

          Booker T & Them

          Booker T & Them

          A Blues

          by Bill Harris

          Price: $19.99

          ISBN: 9780814337165

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: February 2012

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          264 Pages

          & Them: A Blues.

          Three Birds Deep

          Three Birds Deep

          by Sheila Carter-Jones

          Price: $18.00

          ISBN: 9780979750953

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: January 2012

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          96 Pages

          These are poems that draw the reader back to them over and over, not for information but for the music that resonates long after the book is closed.

          Chronicles of the Pig & Other Delusions

          Chronicles of the Pig & Other Delusions

          by Edward Bruce Bynum

          Price: $18.00

          ISBN: 9780979750922

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: January 2010

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          77 Pages

          The following three sections present poetic meditations on various subjects including love, death, current events, "the holy feminine in everyone,and creative writing.

          The Golden Underground

          The Golden Underground

          by Anthony Butts

          Price: $21.99

          ISBN: 9780814333891

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: February 2009

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          56 Pages

          Fans of Butts’s previous work as well as general readers of poetry will enjoy this vital and insightful volume.

          Just for a Thrill

          Just for a Thrill

          Poems

          by Geoffrey Jacques

          Price: $19.99

          ISBN: 9780814332900

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: November 2005

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          128 Pages

          We’re fortunate to have so galvanic a collection of Jacques’ poetry in an edition that promises to reach a wider audience."—From the foreword by Nathaniel Mackey

          A Different Image

          A Different Image

          The Legacy of Broadside Press

          Edited by Albert M. Ward, Gloria House and Rosemary Weatherston

          Price: $24.95

          ISBN: 9780911550979

          Publisher: Broadside Press

          Publication Date: September 2004

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Broadside Press

          288 Pages

          A CD featuring selected readings from each poet's work accompanies the text.

          Octavia

          Octavia

          Guthrie and Beyond

          by Naomi Long Madgett

          Illustrated by Leisia Duskin

          Price: $15.00

          ISBN: 9780916418915

          Publisher: Lotus Press

          Publication Date: January 2002

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Lotus Press

          81 Pages

          Octavia was made required reading in all Detroit public high schools.

          Discarded Legacy

          Discarded Legacy

          Politics and Poetics in the Life of Frances E. W. Harper, 1825-1911

          by Melba Joyce Boyd

          Price: $23.99

          ISBN: 9780814324899

          Publisher: Wayne State University Press

          Publication Date: June 1994

          Format: Paperback

          Imprint: Wayne State University Press

          264 Pages

          Boyd has successfully arranged Harper's work in a manner that connects our present to Harper's past and that re-envisions her consciousness.

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