Family Poetry

With his dazzling ability to set words spinning, Amit Majmudar brings us poems that sharpen both wit and knives as he examines our "life in solitary". Equally engaged with human history and the human heart, Majmudar transfigures identity from a locus of captivity to the open field of his liberation....

Award-winning poet and spoken-word artist, Jeremy McEwen, moseys his listeners down an old gravel road to his late great-grandfather's dying apple orchard in this new collection of poetry. Papa's Apples is packed full of themes of life 'n death, religion, coming-of-age, baseball, nature as beauty, family, and rural life. McEwen spins his youthful tall-tales into seamless, well-crafted, narrative gems that are sure to soften the heart and put a giggle in the belly. His colloquial, country voice takes us back to a sacred place in time that existed not that long ago.

But Family Poems is so extensive, with over one hundred original poems, in the variations for such relatively few categories, I felt the ability for the listener to "see" the full inside index of included titles, was essential. Within the categories of mom and dad, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and extended family, my wife Sheila and I present the past and present body of poetry that began our wanting to create this many poems.

Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young’s ancestors, from the unnamed women forgotten by the historical record but brought to life through Young’s imagination; to Amy, the first of Young’s foremothers to arrive in Tennessee, buried in an unmarked grave, unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Young’s great-grandmother Gentry, unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother, the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors.

Through entrancing narration of essay and poetry accompanied by soothing sound effects, Nora Nneka (Dr. Nora Ekeanya) details some of the traumatic events that led to her estrangement from her mother and decision to pursue a career in psychiatry.

"Drum prüfe, wer sich ewig bindet, ob sich das Herz zum Herzen findet!" Das berühmte Zitat ist nur einer von vielen wortgewaltigen Versen aus Schillers Balladen-Großwerk "Das Lied von der Glocke". Mit Christian Rode hat die imposante Dichtung einen würdigen Meister der Sprecherkunst gefunden.

Raise a glass, and sample what's been cooked up in this A Crock of Sundries, Volume One. A pinch of family traditions. A dash of the teenage years. Toss in a few alcohol-infused musings. Top it off with a bit of cheeky satire, and some pensive prose and poetry for a fun literary romp through genres. This single-author, multi-genre anthology by Timothy R. Baldwin is sure to have a bit of something for everyone. So kick back in your favorite reading spot, pour yourself a drink, and settle in for an evening of diverse entertainment.

Carole and Jeffery Boston Weatherford’s ancestors are among the founders of Maryland. Their family history there extends more than three hundred years, but as with the genealogical searches of many African Americans with roots in slavery, their family tree can only be traced back five generations before going dark. And so from scraps of history, Carole and Jeffery have conjured the voices of their kin, creating an often painful but ultimately empowering story of who their people were in a breathtaking book that is at once deeply personal yet all too universal.

“Il libro della follia” è la prima traduzione integrale in italiano di "The Book of Folly", che Anne Sexton diede alle stampe nel 1972. Lo stile confessionale che aveva reso celebre l’autrice, fruttandole nel 1967 il premio Pulitzer, giunge qui alla piena maturità trasformandosi nell’allegoria di un Gran Teatro psichedelico. La Signora Benestante che scrive occasionalmente versi rispettando le forme metriche lascia il posto, definitivamente e consapevolmente, al personaggio della Poetessa Martire della società benpensante e all’aspirante suicida, in un rovesciamento parodico dei valori patriarcali.

En lyrisk og temperamentsfuld samling om grøn uld og om at løsrive sig fra rollen som ung pige uden at vide, hvad man ellers kan være.

"Med Nye" balancer griber Caspar Eric tilbage til sin tidligere digtsamling "Nike", hvor han i 2015 skrev om at være en handicappet krop i verden. I sin nye samling, der bærer genrebetegnelsen 'handicapdigte', italesætter Caspar Eric handicappet mere kropsligt og direkte, og samfundets stigmatisering og diskrimination af ‘det anderledes’ problematiseres med poppet præcision. Samtidig leder digtene efter nye fysiske og poetiske måder at findes i verden på og måske også efter et sprog, der kan røre os — med humor, power og et skarpt blik på krydsfeltet mellem det private og det politiske.

A cross between humorous poetry and memoir, Sonnets from Suburbia features Lady Penelope (aka actress Penny Peyser) serving up a funny take on modern day life in Shakespearean sonnet form.

In these poems, Kleber-Diggs names delight in the same breath as loss. Moments suffused with love—teaching his daughter how to drive; watching his grandmother bake a cake; waking beside his beloved to ponder trumpet mechanics—couple with moments of wrenching grief—a father’s life ended by a gun; mourning children draped around their mother’s waist; Freddie Gray’s death in police custody. Even in the refuge-space of dreams, a man calls the police on his Black neighbor.

This book is based on the life experiences of a little girl who had to grow up fast. She was a mother at the age of 14. She had an apartment and adult bills at the age of 15. She struggled in an urban environment to do the right thing, but kept doing the wrong until she had enough experiences in life to guide her through her storm. Learning by experiences and not giving up, today she is a successful business owner, and her daughter is also a successful business owner. She has two beautiful, respectful, and smart granddaughters.

From Lincoln Center’s inaugural poet-in-residence comes this unflinching collection that intricately mines the experience of being a Black woman in America. A highly anticipated volume from critically acclaimed poet Mahogany L. Browne, Chrome Valley is at once a luminous hymn and a battle cry. Spanning the course of her own life as well as embodying centuries of virulent history, this collection pays solemn tribute to the women who came before her.

Renia White is a first-time author. Her debut collection, Casual Conversation, was chosen by Aracelis Girmay as a Blessing the Boats Selection. Named in honor of Lucille Clifton’s National Book Award-winning collection, Blessing the Boats Selections spotlight new poetry collections by women poets of color. Previous Blessing the Boats Selections include Letters to a Young Brown Girl by Barbara Jane Reyes and Year of the Dog by Deborah Paredez.

Clara Jean Beaman Walker was the third of seven children born to Cora and Clarence Beaman in Knoxville, TN, in 1910. Considered to be “Little Mother” by her siblings, she always gave her best to her birth family and to the family she created with her husband, John Albert Walker. Three sons came from this union: Johnny, Clarence, and Henry. A teacher at heart, Jean saw each child before her and helped them navigate home economics, English, and realizing their potential.

Cynthia has devoted her life to nursing, inside and outside the walls of the hospital. Her dedication and commitment to the nurses of yesterday as well as the nurses of today and tomorrow are held close to her heart, mind, and prayers each day. This book exemplifies her compassion for the art of nursing. Her heart beats for the nurses, the patients, and their families. Cynthia believes that if mentored and nurtured, nurses can be the light in the darkest moments of a person’s life. Her poems give a nurse the perfect dose of inspiration, hope, and comfort.

The purpose for which I wrote the following poem(s) is because they assisted me in expressing the feelings, thoughts, and emotions which I was having at the time while I walked through a relatively challenging period of my life. I hope to inspire other young Black males to also express their thoughts, talk about their feelings, and to hopefully try to make the world a better place. Allow yourself as the listener to think of your own perspective regarding these topics, issues, and subject matters.

When I was in the fourth grade, we had a map of Vietnam on our kitchen wall. When my mother received an airmail letter, she would walk to the map and move one of the stickpins to a new location to see if one of her brothers was in harm’s way in some new hot spot or battle. I spent a lot of time worrying about that map. I had five uncles in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. This is a book about going off to war, a book about coming back home, and a book about those who are left behind. I dedicate this book to those voices, my family, and every voice calling out at times of war.