A vivid and varied collection that addresses family loyalties, dysfunction, violence, and differences, Hurrah's Nest is White's imaginative and emotionally honest exploration of growing up the second oldest, first daughter of seven siblings. Childhood experiences are looked at with rawness, sensitivity, and crafted with precision: be it the cutting of her dreadlocks, mother's abortion, drug trafficking, or her sister's developmental disability, the language is tender and startling. Hurrah's Nest--from the confusion of our lives--asks us to make meaning and good from what we've bargained and haven't bargained for.

Hurrah's Nest

Literature & Fiction

White, Arisa

Poetry

Virtual Artists Collective

Based on a true story. In her second full-length collection, A Penny Saved, Arisa White's elegantly harrowing poems investigate the idea of the captive within spousal abuse. Often utilizing the voice of the good wife Penny, these poems bring to the fore the effects of mental abuse in juxtaposition to a patriarchal world that tries to swallow the voice of Penny. White's poems drift from stream of consciousness to afterthought to dialogue in a way that exhibits her flexible and intimate relationship with language. With this dexterity, Penny's voice is realized.

A Penny Saved

Aquarius Press/Willow Books

Poetry. LGBTQIA Studies. California Interest. African &amp; African American Studies. Women's Studies. Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Lesbian Poetry. Angular, smart, and fearless, Arisa White's newest collection takes its titles from words used internationally as hate speech against gays and lesbians, reworking, re-envisioning, and re- embodying language as a conduit for art, love, and understanding. "To live freely, observantly as a politically astute, sensually perceptive Queer Black woman is to be risk taker, at risk, a perceived danger to others and even dangerous to/as oneself," writes poet Tracie Morris. "White's attentive word substitutions and range of organized forms, lithe anecdotes, and disturbed resonances put us in the middle of living a realized, intelligent life of the senses." YOU'RE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING THAT HAPPENED works through intersectional encounters with gender, identity, and human barbarism, landing deftly and defiantly in beauty.

You're The Most Beautiful Thing That Happened

Augury Books

Building on the brilliance of Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, the newest installment in the Fighting for Justice series introduces young readers to another real-life champion for civil rights: Bridget “Biddy” Mason, an African American philanthropist, healer, and midwife who was born into slavery. When Biddy arrived in California, where slavery was technically illegal, she was kept captive by her owners and forced to work without pay. But when Biddy learned that she was going to be taken to a slave state, she launched a plan to win her freedom. She refused to be defined by her enslavement, and coauthors Arisa White and Laura Atkins devote much of their narrative to Biddy Mason's later life as a business and civic leader in the fledgling city of Los Angeles. Biddy Mason Speaks Up is an age-appropriate yet unflinching examination of slavery, racism, and community healing in the United States. Each chapter begins with lyrical verse and full-color illustrations that draw readers into the narrative, and is followed by visually engaging sections filled with keyword definitions, historical context, timelines, and primary sources. Throughout the book, the authors pose questions to the reader, such as “How do you see power at work in your community?”, making Biddy Mason's story all the more relatable to the present day.

Biddy Mason Speaks Up (Fighting for Justice, 2)

Atkins, Laura

History

Heyday

Literary Nonfiction. Poetry. Fiction. African & African American Studies. Women's Studies. LGBTQIA Studies. A lyrical, genre-bending coming-of-age tale featuring a queer, Black, Guyanese American woman who, while seeking to define her own place in the world, negotiates a difficult relationship with her father.

Who's Your Daddy

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture