August 6, 2024 • 8 mins
In this episode, bridgette takes inspiration from Ntozake Shange’s 1976 choreopoem, for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf and compiles a list of five collections by Black women that you should know. Listen in as bridgette chooses one collection from each of the past five years and explains why you should know it.
Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Lori Walker and Danielle Mitchell. Hosted by Danielle Mitchell, Lori Walker, and bridgette bianca.
Theme song: "Simply Upbeat" by Christian Telford, Kenneth Edward Belcher, and Saki Furuya.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(00:00):
i don't know about you but i've been pretty
reflective lately remember the time a few
years ago when everyone was on a mission to
diversify their reading lists the year was
2020 and we were in the thick of the black
lives matter movement
every sector of society seemed to respond
with their own efforts to bring greater
diversity equity and inclusion
for the literary world we saw many
(00:21):
bookstacks of classic and contemporary
black literature on our social media feeds
and so many listicles on blogs featuring
black writers the demand for black stories
of all kinds both prose and poetry fiction
and nonfiction was pretty high and then the
efforts to diversify seemed to stop no not
all at one time but slowly but do you know
(00:44):
what did slow down
the writers black poets particularly black
women kept writing and publishing and on
today's episode i wanted to share some of
those books with you so join me as we sing
a black girls song
welcome to the poetry lab podcast
(01:09):
the poetry lab started 11 years ago to help
dedicated self taught and formally trained
writers find a place in their community to
write read
learn
and collaborate
we help writers tap into their craft with
radical self compassion unlike anything
you've ever seen in a creative writing
(01:29):
classroom before if you're a creative
person trying to establish a writing
practice in the real world
this podcast is designed to help you carve
out the time
the courage and the inspiration to keep
writing your new shit
are you ready poet
let's get into it
(01:56):
for colored girls who have considered
suicide when the rainbow is enough by
intezaki shange
somebody
anybody sing a black girl song
bring her out to
know herself to know you
sing her rhythms karen struggle hard time
(02:17):
sing her song of life she's been dead so
long closed in silence so long she doesn't
know the sound of her own voice her
infinite beauty she's half notes scattered
without rhythm no tune
sing her
sighs sing the song of her possibilities
(02:38):
sing a righteous gospel let her be born let
her be born and
handled
warmly
hey y'all brigitte here and this segment of
intezaki shanguay's iconic choreo poem has
always inspired me and is the inspiration
for today's list
(02:58):
here are five poetry collections from black
women one from each of the past five years
keep in mind that this list isn't
exhaustive there are way too many books out
there for that this isn't a best of list
either though i'm sure you would find these
titles on many of those kinds of lists
instead consider each of these books as a
(03:20):
voice in the course singing a black girl's
song since
2020
first let's begin in the year 2020 with
even the saint's audition by rachel jackson
published by button poetry
this is a phenomenal work the chicago
baseball and educator tapped into the
tension
between the constraints of the church and
(03:41):
the curiosity of the black girl personas
that shepherd each poem
i find myself coming back to poems like
church girls sing for the congregation and
the sestina for the black girl who doesn't
know how to braid hair again and again
while negotiating between soul and spirit
can be sobering at times this book
is as triumphant a rowling cry as beyonce's
(04:05):
church girl from the renaissance album and
you know that's a jam
for our second selection let's move to 2021
with black girl call home by jasmine mans
published by berkeley
winner of the stonewall literary award
mann's second collection of poetry this was
easily one of the most anticipated poetry
(04:26):
collections i've come across in a while
just ask oprah vogue essence l and any
other periodical
on newsstands and dissipation was worth it
newark based poet jasmine man delivers
powerful pieces with an intensity and
vulnerability that makes them feel like she
is speaking directly to her reader black
girl call home is both a directive and a
(04:49):
welcome this book is full of hits like the
viral footnotes for kanye but also love
songs to her city like the 39 bus makes
stops in the south ward this book feels
like a vinyl record on a warm evening it
doesn't matter where you drop the needle
just let it play on
the third book on our list brings us to
2022 with i'm writing to tell you by
(05:11):
jahazai nabu published by mama's kitchen
press i don't know where you are from dear
listener but where i'm from here in l a
jahazar nabu is something like a legend
to live in the age of zainabu have you ever
heard the saying they took their time with
that one while experiencing something
(05:31):
beautiful like a sight a sound a feeling or a meal
that's what i can say about i'm writing to
tell you she took her time with this one
each piece digs deep into you both sharp and
smooth soft and gritty this book keeps you
on your toes and also makes you want to
nestle in between the lines and rest for a while
(05:52):
the opening poem word sets to tone with an
artist poetica of sorts ain't the poet's
job sweep this world up clean as it can get
if this collection was a song it would be
somewhere between anita baker and the clark
sisters on a saturday morning a black
mama's signal to get up and get moving this
next collection is one i came to a little
(06:13):
late because i was still caught up with her
previous collections
ready or not suddenly we by ev shockley
published by westing university press is here
some would describe the poems in this
collection as ecfrastic but i don't know if
that explains it enough yeah the pieces
describe the work of artists like alice in
sarr but really the poems themselves feel
(06:35):
tangible
almost sculptural i imagine the sections of
the book as a gathering of strands and the
collections as a braid weaving together
visual art language community and history
poems like brianna taylor's final rest or
the furys are still activists and
poems like fruitful exemplify how this book
(06:55):
resonates like an organ is it an elegy a
eulogy or an invitation you'll have to read
it for yourself to find out and last but
not least we arrived back here in 2024 with
woke up no lights by leila motley published
by alfred knopf you may know the young miss
motley by her best selling an award winning
debut novel nightcrawling but did you know
(07:16):
she is a former youthport laureate in
oakland
and just a few pages into the recently
released
woke up no lie you will understand why
a third into the book we find the poem that
gives the book its title and like the
speaker we too wake up bereft and
beleaguered but not too bewildered to
question the world around us this book is
(07:38):
bass heavy you can feel it vibrating in
your chest and rattling your trunk motley
commands your attention with poems that
thump so hard you'll think it's your own
heartbeat and isn't it
aren't these poems what pumps through all
of our veins well
there you have it dear listener five books
by black women poets released in the past
(07:58):
five years and trust me this was tough to
do if you want to get a lead or more books
like these check out the show notes for
this episode
if you enjoyed what you heard today check
out past episodes and be sure to like and
follow us for more if you really want a
gold star in our hearts share this with a
(08:18):
friend to help us grow our community here
for more information about the poetry lab
podcast
check us out at
theportrylab
com
hotcast
and i'll talk to y'all next time
(14:07):
hey y'all brigitte here
(00:00):
i don't know about you but i've been pretty
reflective lately remember the time a few
years ago when everyone was on a mission to
diversify their reading lists the year was
2020 and we were in the thick of the black
lives matter movement
every sector of society seemed to respond
with their own efforts to bring greater
diversity equity and inclusion
for the literary world we saw many
(00:21):
bookstacks of classic and contemporary
black literature on our social media feeds
and so many listicles on blogs featuring
black writers the demand for black stories
of all kinds both prose and poetry fiction
and nonfiction was pretty high and then the
efforts to diversify seemed to stop no not
all at one time but slowly but do you know
(00:44):
what did slow down
the writers black poets particularly black
women kept writing and publishing and on
today's episode i wanted to share some of
those books with you so join me as we sing
a black girls song
welcome to the poetry lab podcast
(01:09):
the poetry lab started 11 years ago to help
dedicated self taught and formally trained
writers find a place in their community to
write read
learn
and collaborate
we help writers tap into their craft with
radical self compassion unlike anything
you've ever seen in a creative writing
(01:29):
classroom before if you're a creative
person trying to establish a writing
practice in the real world
this podcast is designed to help you carve
out the time
the courage and the inspiration to keep
writing your new shit
are you ready poet
let's get into it
(01:56):
for colored girls who have considered
suicide when the rainbow is enough by
intezaki shange
somebody
anybody sing a black girl song
bring her out to
know herself to know you
sing her rhythms karen struggle hard time
(02:17):
sing her song of life she's been dead so
long closed in silence so long she doesn't
know the sound of her own voice her
infinite beauty she's half notes scattered
without rhythm no tune
sing her
sighs sing the song of her possibilities
(02:38):
sing a righteous gospel let her be born let
her be born and
handled
warmly
hey y'all brigitte here and this segment of
intezaki shanguay's iconic choreo poem has
always inspired me and is the inspiration
for today's list
(02:58):
here are five poetry collections from black
women one from each of the past five years
keep in mind that this list isn't
exhaustive there are way too many books out
there for that this isn't a best of list
either though i'm sure you would find these
titles on many of those kinds of lists
instead consider each of these books as a
(03:20):
voice in the course singing a black girl's
song since
2020
first let's begin in the year 2020 with
even the saint's audition by rachel jackson
published by button poetry
this is a phenomenal work the chicago
baseball and educator tapped into the
tension
between the constraints of the church and
(03:41):
the curiosity of the black girl personas
that shepherd each poem
i find myself coming back to poems like
church girls sing for the congregation and
the sestina for the black girl who doesn't
know how to braid hair again and again
while negotiating between soul and spirit
can be sobering at times this book
is as triumphant a rowling cry as beyonce's
(04:05):
church girl from the renaissance album and
you know that's a jam
for our second selection let's move to 2021
with black girl call home by jasmine mans
published by berkeley
winner of the stonewall literary award
mann's second collection of poetry this was
easily one of the most anticipated poetry
(04:26):
collections i've come across in a while
just ask oprah vogue essence l and any
other periodical
on newsstands and dissipation was worth it
newark based poet jasmine man delivers
powerful pieces with an intensity and
vulnerability that makes them feel like she
is speaking directly to her reader black
girl call home is both a directive and a
(04:49):
welcome this book is full of hits like the
viral footnotes for kanye but also love
songs to her city like the 39 bus makes
stops in the south ward this book feels
like a vinyl record on a warm evening it
doesn't matter where you drop the needle
just let it play on
the third book on our list brings us to
2022 with i'm writing to tell you by
(05:11):
jahazai nabu published by mama's kitchen
press i don't know where you are from dear
listener but where i'm from here in l a
jahazar nabu is something like a legend
to live in the age of zainabu have you ever
heard the saying they took their time with
that one while experiencing something
(05:31):
beautiful like a sight a sound a feeling or a meal
that's what i can say about i'm writing to
tell you she took her time with this one
each piece digs deep into you both sharp and
smooth soft and gritty this book keeps you
on your toes and also makes you want to
nestle in between the lines and rest for a while
(05:52):
the opening poem word sets to tone with an
artist poetica of sorts ain't the poet's
job sweep this world up clean as it can get
if this collection was a song it would be
somewhere between anita baker and the clark
sisters on a saturday morning a black
mama's signal to get up and get moving this
next collection is one i came to a little
(06:13):
late because i was still caught up with her
previous collections
ready or not suddenly we by ev shockley
published by westing university press is here
some would describe the poems in this
collection as ecfrastic but i don't know if
that explains it enough yeah the pieces
describe the work of artists like alice in
sarr but really the poems themselves feel
(06:35):
tangible
almost sculptural i imagine the sections of
the book as a gathering of strands and the
collections as a braid weaving together
visual art language community and history
poems like brianna taylor's final rest or
the furys are still activists and
poems like fruitful exemplify how this book
(06:55):
resonates like an organ is it an elegy a
eulogy or an invitation you'll have to read
it for yourself to find out and last but
not least we arrived back here in 2024 with
woke up no lights by leila motley published
by alfred knopf you may know the young miss
motley by her best selling an award winning
debut novel nightcrawling but did you know
(07:16):
she is a former youthport laureate in
oakland
and just a few pages into the recently
released
woke up no lie you will understand why
a third into the book we find the poem that
gives the book its title and like the
speaker we too wake up bereft and
beleaguered but not too bewildered to
question the world around us this book is
(07:38):
bass heavy you can feel it vibrating in
your chest and rattling your trunk motley
commands your attention with poems that
thump so hard you'll think it's your own
heartbeat and isn't it
aren't these poems what pumps through all
of our veins well
there you have it dear listener five books
by black women poets released in the past
(07:58):
five years and trust me this was tough to
do if you want to get a lead or more books
like these check out the show notes for
this episode
if you enjoyed what you heard today check
out past episodes and be sure to like and
follow us for more if you really want a
gold star in our hearts share this with a
(08:18):
friend to help us grow our community here
for more information about the poetry lab
podcast
check us out at
theportrylab
com
hotcast
and i'll talk to y'all next time
(14:07):
hey y'all brigitte here
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