By Jayy Dodd

Black poetics has been a stronghold and foundation for language as we know it. From flips and cuts in grammar, Black folk (globally) have taken back colonized tongue forming new and necessary vocabularies. We hear it in hip-hop, opinion piece and every other Black medium; poetry is an invaluable resource for the diaspora. Below is a brief selection of Black poets you need to know, watch and support:

 

1. Cam Awkward Rich

Read: “Filling the New House”

Watch: “A Prude’s Manifesto”

Buy: Transit

 

2. Morgan Parker

Read: “Beyoncé, touring in Asia, Breaks Down in a White Tee”

Watch: “The History of Black People”

Buy: Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me up at Night

 

3. Robert Ashley

Read: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Motherfucker at the Club”

Watch: “23rd Street Anthem”

Buy: the homeboy songs

 

4. Aziza Barnes

Read: “How To Purchase A Flight”

Watch “Hypnophobia“:

Buy: me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun.

 

5. Nate Marshall

Read: “on caskets”

Watch: “Look!”

Buy: Wild Hundreds

 

6. Dominique Christina

Read: “The Period Place”

Watch: “Karma”

Buy: They Are All Me

 

7. Angel Nafis

Read: “Gravity”

Watch: “Angel’s Heart Clown’s the Ocean”

Buy: Black Girl Mansion

 

Photo: Cam Awkward-Rich (YouTube)

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.