The Tradition | Jericho Brown
110 pages | Copper Canyon Press
Brown is an award-winning, nationally recognized poet and largely influential voice in the literary community. Brown's poetry concerns itself with his experience as a black, gay Southern man in America, which is an essential voice given the sociopolitical landscape of this nation today. Poem from the new book appeared in TIME magazine His first book Please won the American Book Award. His second book The New Testament won the Thomas Gunn Award and the Ainsfield-Wolf Book Award. Brown's musicality shines through in each of his poems as a testament to his ability to converge the medium of music with that of his poetry.
The Tradition explores cultural threats on black bodies, resistance, and the interplay of desire and privilege in a dangerous era.