April 7, 2016
Negative by Kevin Young
Wake to find everything black
what was white, all the vice
versa–white maids on TV, black
sitcoms that star white dwarfs
cute as pearl buttons. Black Presidents,
Black Houses. White horse
candidates. All bleach burns
clothes black. Drive roads
white as you are, white songs
March 21, 2016
This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kevin Young’s impressive selected volume Blue Laws. Perfect for those new to his work, this extensive collection includes a hefty helping of unpublished poems along with picks from his nine books including his 1995 debut Most Way Home and his 2012 American Book Award winner Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels. Whether giving voice to historical figures like Jack Johnson or exploring Southern food, family, and the blues, Young’s poems – as described by Time Out New York – are “alive to their very bones, sexy and sad and true… Like any great blues, Young’s is universal.” So plan to spend some time with this riveting collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.
