“The truth is the truth is the truth”

“A poet of two centuries”

E. Ethelbert Miller and Fred Joiner on who gets to be a Black writer, giving birth to a new generation of critics, and baseball. Mentioned in this episode: In Search of Color Everywhere: A Collection of African-American Poetry edited by E. Ethelbert Miller Beyond the Frontier: African-American Poetry for the 21st Century edited by E. Ethelbert Miller “Winter in America” by Gil Scott-Heron “Party For Your Right To Fight” by Public Enemy “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown “Today’s News” by Elizabeth Alexander Giant Talk: An Anthology of Third World Writings edited by Quincy Troupe and Rainer Schulte “Girlfriend” by Lori Tsang Dynamite Voices: Black Poets of the 1960s by Haki R. Madhubuti “Up and Down” by E. Ethelbert Miller

“You didn’t know you would need this poem”

Harryette Mullen and Chet’la Sebree on hidden histories, the plagues we live through, and (ahem) “dick’s tight hat band.” Mentioned in this episode: “Elliptical” from Sleeping With the Dictionary by Harryette Mullen Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey Olio by Tyehimba Jess The Age of Phillis by Honorée Fannone Jeffers “Hotter Than July” from Regaining Unconsciousness by Harryette Mullen and Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder “Elegy for What Once Slept in a Cage” from Teeth Never Sleep by Ángel García

“If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is”

Kwame Dawes and Ama Codjoe on young African poets finding their voices, the mistakes of English classes, and what Lionel Messi has to do with writing poetry.

“You’re gonna have to grow some wings”

Nikky Finney and Danez Smith on “Negroes with guns,” underwater cameras, and getting out of our lanes as the temperatures rise. Mentioned in this episode: “Negroes With Guns” from Head Off & Split by Nikky Finney Negroes With Guns by Robert F. Williams “Topless in America” by Nikky Finney “Nikky Finney on Pencils” from KYwriters on youtube.com Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “The Apocalypse” by Emily Raboteau On Wings Made of Gauze by Nikkey Finney Nikky Finney’s 2011 National Book Award for Poetry acceptance speech

“The truth is the truth is the truth”

Elizabeth Alexander and Nicole Sealey on the treasures of archives, the work of a generation, and the resonant truth you feel in your bones. Mentioned in this episode: “Praise Song for the Day” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Tina Green” from American Sublime by Elizabeth Alexander “Ars Poetica #100: I Believe” from American Sublime by Elizabeth Alexander “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks “The Trayvon Generation” by Elizabeth Alexander “One Art” from The Complete Poems 1926-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop “Hayden in the Archive” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Toomer” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Stokely and Adam” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “In the Small Rooms” by Elizabeth Alexander “In D.C.” Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Fugue” from Body of Life by Elizabeth Alexander “Body of Life” from Body of Life by Elizabeth Alexander “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” by Langston Hughes From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans by John Hope Franklin “The Elders” Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Rally” from Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010 by Elizabeth Alexander “Five Elegies” from American Sublime by Elizabeth Alexander “Personal History” by Adrienne Su