Less Race Less Race Less Ness

As both black and white poets begin to unlock the aesthetic doors to new ways of writing race and racism in America, the challenge to invent new and bolder forms has produced quite a few fascinating new books and voices; and much of this new work is redefining what it means to be an American poet, as well as providing some very interesting critiques of American literary history and rejuvenating the way the aesthetic toolbox is used. Black writers such as Evie Schockley (The New Black), Douglas Kearney (The Black Automaton), and Khadijah Queen (Black Peculiar) have chosen expressive approaches that have eliminated “explaining” and “bargaining for equality” or “proving their humanity,” while white writers such as Jake Adam York (A Murmuration of Starlings) and Martha Collins (Blue Front) explore civil rights and the history of hate crimes in order to provide rare testimonials toward America’s long-sought identity repair. This is a workshop course, a poem a week (about race or its absence in our lives), some memorization, judicious and percussive exchanges, lots of handouts, required reading, and a final portfolio.