The Corners of My Shaping

Jaha Zainabu

Penmanship Books

A collection of poems, stories and essays about the fallible woman, the sensitive girl-child and the fearless warrior, His Rib, offers an inside look at her story. The written works featured in this project includes women from both the literary field and the performance poetry circuit, creating a symbiotic kinship between the two art forms. After combing several continents, the women within these pages were found scribing folk tales in California, sonnets in New York, producing prose in London and breaking stereotypes with each stanza in Colorado, Texas and Canada. The result, a quilt weaved perfectly of compassion, self-respect, discipline, lust and hunger. Enjoy the crack and thunder of His Rib.

His Rib: Stories, Poems & Essays by Her

Edited by Mahogany L. Browne Foreword by Patricia Smith

The poems in The Pornography Diaries are just part of a multimedia project by musician and poet Sean Patrick Conlon. Drawing from cognitive science experiments on the brain and human behavior in  relation to romantic and sexual relationships, in addition to 20 personal interviews and film analysis of over 50 romantic films, Sean Patrick  Conlon?s first book speaks to a generational quandary: What has  modernization done to the human heart? Over the course of the book, the reader is taken on a journey from sexual awakening to romantic surrender, from fresh-faced enthusiasm and erotic swagger to cynical resignation and finally, hope.

The Pornography Diaries

Sean Patrick Conlon

Poetry. African American Studies. "[Zora Howard's] youth inspires hope and her writing inspires those of us aging warriors who have tried to mend so many things in life that have cracked. Reward yourself and let Zora into your life"—Harry Belafonte. "Zora Howard is a poet beyond her years. Her work exudes the detail that comes with decades of practice, the honesty and bravery that many poets never achieve. Her impact on youth poetry in New York City and nationally started when she was a rising freshman at age 13, and is still profound as she enters her first year at Yale. For me, the joy of watching her grow was not in the numerous accolades she has won, but in the evolution of Zora the artist, activist, and scholar. CLUTCH is a monument that details it all"—Michael Cirelli.

Clutch

Literature & Fiction

Howard, Zora

Poetry

Poetry. Fiction. Jewish Studies. LAST KAISER ROLL IN THE BODEGA is Vanessa Hidary's first collection of poems and stories of a Jewish girl in a busy city, how she finds love, poetry and herself. "Vanessa Hidary is a master. I don't know how she does it. Every word, every phrase, seems to be chosen with care and total passion. Relentlessly funny and always smart."—Fred Armisen "A battle cry for the fed-up girlfriend bent on reclaiming what's left of her dignity and pride, determined to move on with head held high...a love story about friendships that know no boundaries, barriers, divisions or color lines."—Yvonne Orji

Last Kaiser Roll in the Bodega

Hidary, Vanessa

Poetry. Edited by Geoff Kagan Trenchard, Adam Falkner and Mahogany L. Browne, this Penmanship Books anthology includes poems and writing prompts by Ken Arkind, Joshua Bennett, Mahogany L. Browne, Michael Cirelli, William Evans, Adam Falkner, Falu, Barbara Fant, Rico Frederick, Vanessa Hidary, Chinaka Hodge, Eboni Hogan, Zora Howard, Geoff Kagan Trenchard, Dasha Kelly, Carvens Lissaint, Aja-Monet, Justin Long-Motion, Sean Patrick Mulroy, Jive Poetic, Jaha Zainabu and Lauren Zuniga.

Toss the Earth: Poems That Move Us

Poetry. Geoff Kagan Trenchard is a fascinating storyteller who uses his gifts to compose a literature not just of violence and survival, but also of tenderness and intimacy. MURDER STAY MURDER is both shockingly honest and unnervingly clandestine, the kind of deeply personal document that will counter the official record. Moreover, the author has generated writing prompts for each poem in this collection, making MURDER STAY MURDER an essential companion for any creative writing teacher or poet looking for fresh inspiration. "Unflinchingly cool as a hollow body and hot as a fresh powder burn, Trenchard knows the hellion, the hero, the underdog and the undertaker, and comes at them with a witness's need to tell all and the vigilante's need for justice."—Daphne Gottlieb "Effortlessly referencing MF DOOM and Freud in a single bound, MURDER STAY MURDER is watercolor bloody prose stuffed into elegant post-hip hop poetic form."—Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Murder Stay Murder

Trenchard, Geoff Kagan

Poetry. African American Studies. "GRITS uses bold imagery and precise narratives to highlight overlooked moments in daily life: a sobbing passenger on an airplane, two women celebrating Valentine's Day dressed in black, and relates those small moments to the themes of love, madness and the nebulous emotional space that exists between the two. Eboni's first book takes reader to places ranging from Nigeria to the West Village. These poems reflect the work of a woman who has lived many lives in many different places and isn't afraid to indict and challenge the status quo. Eboni demonstrates comfort in her own voice and strong command over persona. Poems in voices of Cicily Tyson, Mary Woodson, Eunice Waymon accentuate the musical quality of the language throughout the book. In particular, these women all are connected to music and violence by their own hands or others. The poems in this book truly reflect the title; they are small grains that contribute to a very fulfilling and satisfying read"--Ekoko Omadeke.

Grits

Eboni

About the Author 
Lauren has been studying meditation and evolutionary enlightenment for 12 years. She is the co-founder of The Shift Collective, a network of artivists making shift happen, through which she facilitates [Shift]Write, a workshop that combines meditation exercises with writing exercises for highly aware writing.

The Nickel Tour

Lauren Zuniga

Poetry. African American Studies. "There are people who come into your life, who come into this world with such velocity, bravery and beauty that whole hearts are changed, the whole earth is moved. Aja Monet is one of those rare people in my world, in this world. She is a lyrical shape-shifter, an ancient infant, bravely falling up. Her search for compassion and truth is relentless and voracious. Her time here, her work, here, her life is our poem. Here."—Michaela Angela Davis

The Black Unicorn Sings

Bacquie, Aja Monet

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