We Rise…

Last May I wrote a poem for this important anthology organized by Just Us Books. They soon found a partner in Random House and that means I’ll have two books out with that publisher this fall–and both deal with dragons! This anthology has a serious purpose, which the editors explained in their press release:

(January 17, 2018) —  Random House Children’s Books will publish WE RISE. WE RESIST. WE RAISE OUR VOICES, an empowering collection of poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from over 50 diverse, award-winning children’s book authors and artists in collaboration with Just Us Books, a Black-owned publisher committed to exclusively producing Black and multicultural children’s books, it was announced today by Mallory Loehr, SVP, Random House Books for Young Readers Publishing Group. Phoebe Yeh, VP/Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, acquired World rights for publication from Just Us Books co-founders and anthology compilers Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. The beautiful, full-color keepsake collection will be available on September 4, 2018.

In an increasingly polarized world, parents are looking for tools to discuss the difficult political and global challenges that their children will one day inherit. In WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, the industry’s foremost children’s authors and illustrators share their perspective, encouragement, hope, and inspiration to help parents, educators, and young readers ignite lasting change in their communities.

You can read the full press release here.

This week I’ve been leading writing workshops at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School HS. I’ve worked with this school in the past and knew their students would be interested in learning about Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. I wanted to provide context, however, and so we’ve been talking about some of Brooks’ contemporaries, too–Margaret Walker, Nikki Giovanni, and I think we’ll wrap up with Claudia Rankine. I’m planning my own poetry collection inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement’s three Black women founders, so it’s great to have a week where I’m focused on poetry—which is rare. I’m energized when I’m in the classroom listening to the students, but by the time I walk home again I am TIRED. Hats off to all the full-time teachers (like my parents) who do this all day every day!