Friday 29 January 2021

Ellen Hagan : part five

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?

I return often to TEETH by Aracelis Girmay and Tougaloo Blues by Kelly Norman Ellis. Those books feel central to my work in that they build community with their poems – they welcome and gather people to the table. They celebrate and honor – hold up and hold close. I love everything about those collections. And I am returning often to the writers that mix genres and write and experiment with their work like Renée Watson, Krista Franklin, Fatimah Asghar and Rachelle Cruz. Often, I am returning to their work and seeing how they shape the future with their words.

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