We asked Girls Write Now staff members to share some of their favorite poems for Black History Month
During Black History Month, we’re reflecting on the writers who inspire us. Whether they’re poets who have comforted us throughout our lives, or new voices from the emerging generation of Black creatives, we are grateful to be witness to such abundance. Read through these poetry picks by members of our staff:
Hip-Hop Ghazal
By Patricia Smith
Recommended by Azia Armstead
Gotta love us girls, just struttin’ down Manhattan streets
killing the menfolk with a dose of that stinging view. Hips.
Hush Little Blue Girl (Interlude)
By SEQUOIA MANNER
Recommended by Annaya Baynes
Mama’s lived through freeze that chokes bloom
Taught you to build an interior room (just for you)
Resolution #1,003
By June Jordan
Recommended by Kathryn Destin
I will make myself a passionate and eager lover in response to passionate and
eager love
I will be nobody’s fool
Creativity: It Happens
By Suze Baron
Recommended by Daniella Olibrice
It happens when darkness shades sections of the earth and all is quiet
Yes that is the time the mind leaves the skull to run wild
Grew Through Jazz
By Allahna Johnson
Recommended by Ayana Perkins
I grew up on Jazz
The depth of the trumpets runs through my bones
The freedom of my people through my bloodstream