LITERARY

These poems declare, “My body/ is mine.”

The walls outlined in Herrera’s poems continue to close in on present day America. Herrera writes to all parts of our humanity in an effort to tear down those barriers.

“African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song” is the centerpiece of Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters, a year long national celebration and humanities initiative of African American poetry and an exploration of the perspectives it offers on American history and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. This anthology was made possible with support from The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Emerson Collective.