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Staff Pick
Black Girl, Call Home is an utterly gorgeous collection from acclaimed poet Jasmine Mans, whose poetic voice lingers on the heart and can't — you won’t want it to — be set down. It is a beacon for the lost and wandering and a warm envelopment of home, healing, and the clarity that each of those lends to the soul. One of my favorite contemporary collections of poetry for its warmth, honesty, and undeniable artistry. Recommended By Alexis B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
AS SEEN ON GOOD DAY NEW YORK
A Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Oprah Magazine - Time - Vogue - Vulture - Essence - Elle - Cosmopolitan - Real Simple - Marie Claire - Refinery 29 - Shondaland - Pop Sugar - Bustle - Reader's Digest - Ms. Magazine- Apartment Therapy - The Rumpus - She Reads - The Everygirl - Medium - Career Contessa
"Nothing short of sublime, and the territory Mans'] explores...couldn't be more necessary." — Vogue
"A tender distillation of black girlhood. Mans draws together both intricate adornment and the unvarnished truth." — Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster
" Mans'] lucid and lyrical lines are as undeniable as those of a pop song yet as arresting as only spoken word artistry can be." — O, the Oprah Magazine
From spoken word poet Jasmine Mans comes an unforgettable poetry collection about race, feminism, and queer identity.
With echoes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez, Mans writes to call herself — and us — home. Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America — and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman.
Black Girl, Call Home is a love letter to the wandering Black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing.
Review
"This book is a haven for all the Black daughters out there, hoping to make sense of the power and powerlessness in their bodies, the connection to others' bodies, and the moments of everyday life that comprise so much of our identities." — Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing
Review
"Delving into heartbreak, community, family, race, queer identity, sexual violence, feminism, and celebrity, Mans' poems are startling and unforgettable." — Booklist
Review
"Gorgeously precise...a timely and powerful book." — Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Jasmine Mans is a Black American poet, artist from Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison, with a B.A. in African American Studies. Her debut collection of poetry, Chalk Outlines of Snow Angels, was published in 2012. Mans is the resident poet at the Newark Public Library. She was a member of The Strivers Row Collective.