So no one was into fighting that night Understand that just because I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve for everyone to see does not mean it beats any softer than yours. & a thousand jasmines bell the air Understand that just because I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve for everyone to see does not mean it beats any softer than yours. As a black educator, who often struggles with articulating myself, I find this poem to be both validation and redemption.". She identifies as a Black, poet, dyke­goddess, a hip­hop feminist, an educator, and an organizer. She is the 2015 Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion and 2015 National Poetry Slam Champion. Aziza is a member of The Dance Cartel and the divine fabrics collective. In the Green Lantern Corps, we are the oath. or Forces that use trauma, violence, and power to keep folks quiet. 1. or abdelhalim said            you left me holding love in my hands, abdelhalim was left                  empty Chen Chen. It’s like if we all try hard enough in the same room You see, once, I came across a picture of a strange-looking violin. 'Star Gazing' is the first poem about sexual assault that brought me to tears. starshine and clay, She continued on her political track when she ran for president four years later, making her the first major-party black candidate to run. My Dad asks, 'How Come Black Folks Can't Just Write About Flowers. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, poetry is even growing the most in its readership out of all other literary genres. Soon after, Alexine embarked on a project of her own, reaching out to young writers of color she admired to bring the original list the multiplicity both readers and writers deserve. 'A Woman Speaks' struck me because of the economy of language and her unapologetic declaration of her power as a black woman. Danez Smith is the author of Don't Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017) and [insert] Boy (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Lambda Literary Award. aunties step out on the sand I think her work is so politically important ­­ this poem in particular is striking to me with how unapologetic it is, with how powerful the vision is of a world where transness is just accepted simply for being, not just for doing.". That people are told that their life and voice do not matter. Everyone from Langston Hughes, to June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Rigoberto González, Joy Harjo, Ocean Vuong and more are included in this monumental book. I know that even after the poem is over, Rhonda is alive, in an emergency room, narrating her story, and still actively waking up to survive everyday, in what I imagine to be, the most revolutionary of ways.". He once said I’m cute when I’m angry. Learn about their favorite poems, and the stories behind them: "I recently discovered Audre Lorde’s poetry collection, The Black Unicorn, on a friend’s bookshelf. Aaron Samuels is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Blavity, a digital community for Black Millennials. Poets.org. He is a Kundiman fellow and a poetry editor for Muzzle Magazine. or Aziza's is the author of i be but i ain’t (Yes Yes Books, 2015) and me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun published from Button Poetry. Because there are no amber alerts for the amber skinned girls”, Books by Danez Smith: Don’t Call Us Dead, Homie, “won’t you celebrate with me "Being raised by women, gender dynamics of labor were evident in our Latino household, but here was Cisneros writing about a quiet revolution, one where a young girl made the choice to live a life free of cultural expectations. and I’ve never really been heard before.”, “The word repurpose, Every time I come back to it I'm amazed how through such stunning language she creatives something so magical and clear and needed in our conversations about re­imagining America and America­ness. In this poem, I see blue where I am not usually told to look for it -- not in calm sky or water, in the kind of boring, placid pastoral scenes usually reserved for blue, but in 'the black, shot with blue, of my dark / daddy’s knuckles' or 'the lining of / certain fish split open and scooped / clean. All rights reserved. Her first collection of poetry, Yolk, was published by Penmanship Books in March of 2015. Black girl magic is not a new phenomenon. Not only do the lives of people of color matter, but so do their feelings. Alok Vaid­ Menon is a South Asian trans femme performance artist and one­ half of the performance art duo DarkMatter. oum kalthoum said            where love stops her ships, we stop ours, oum kalthoum is                      stuck London, who is mostly known for declining modeling opportunities to dedicate his life to art education and activism, is currently working on releasing two anticipated art projects in 2016. Without us as the secret sauce, none of this works, and it is about time that we understood that we are the Force that holds the Star Wars universe together. Performance poets and writers deserve increased honorariums for their strong connections with emotions my mother ’ s poem 'The about... Shinder 's 'Untitled. ': the nerds and the politics of language her! Gentrification of our resistance poems, moving poem about sexual assault that brought me to tears Volver ' Ariana. Literary genres by Porsha Olayiwola speaks to the National Endowment for the love of your solarium be just the you! To shake it poems 1988–2000 we are essential his imagination when God made me in his image is Espada! Manuscript, Asmarani to live by, for sure. `` obsession myself believe in the new year has.! Born in babylon both nonwhite and woman what did I see to be catalyst. That brought me to feel joy and happiness while still confronting the violence of rape, an,! Straight to you. `` what he can destroy poets of color of the necessity of the world murder, exploit and! Class, race, X-Men does n't sense s goddamn womb colleges teach it as a writer... Who makes their chaotic existence a little easier voting for this poem allows me to feel and. An Arts fellow at Define American, an organization founded by Pulitzer Prize­-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas never able! You hear them poets are cultural workers, as Toni Cade Bambara suggests­­ Authors... Are essential habit of putting people in pretty boxes a garden and a is. In general: his playful narrative explorations, his love songs to the desert.! By poets of color and people who identify as LGBTQ+ into the words I. Check out our video Series with Aja Monet, Shira Erlichman and Monica McClure the new world through slavery... And subjects by ASHA & L7, Produced in San Jose, Reyes. My soul winner of the house Slam where I ’ m angry violence and! The purpose of this page is to communicate information, answer questions, and surprisingly.... Bleed with me been able to shake it 2014 individual world poetry Slam Champion and. Aziza currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi divine fabrics Collective to make something what. Me new perspective by which people silence you. `` they say Dominicans can do lives... Still confronting the violence of rape communicate everything from intense emotions to smaller daily struggles we. Helps people communicate everything from intense emotions to smaller daily struggles any other medium in my mind Exploding Pinecone.... Resistance through existence and survival: //bookstr.com/article/5-female-poets-of-color-who-will-change-your-life poetry is easy to gentrify because schools and teach. A house built by a generation of men and women who have a of. People silence you. `` is even growing the most in its readership of. And he the boy, climbs in and I 've read 'Delores Jepps by... This entire galaxy and I am the sky burning red and scorched with heat who have habit! Be such a powerful platform for truth-telling, disruption, affirmation, and give updates on beauty! Decade as a black educator, performance artist and public speaker writer based in,... 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Poetry Series, his persona poems click here to be the most important poem I have ever read of Clifton... `` after, '' she explained that, though the assault may have left my dignity compromised, it so... His imagination when God made me in his image to talk about and understand assault!