Overview

Like A Hammeris an anthology of poems that unearths the shared traumas produced by America's incarceration system. These powerful poems of witness seek to address the oppressive systems that make up the US prison-industrial complex, revealing cracks in a criminal punishment system that too often appears unchangeable. The impacts of that system reverberate through lives and across generations. The poets gathered here aim to foreground the real experiences of people touched by the system, to upend dominant narratives, shine light on injustice, and act as a fulcrum around which to organize communities in support of change. explores how art and imagination can serve as vehicles for endurance, offering us the hope to envision a better future. Contributors include: Hanif Abdurraqib, Rhionna Anderson, Brian Batchelor, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Marina Bueno, Cody Bruce, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Natalie Diaz, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Nikky Finney, Kennedy A. Gisege, Gustavo Guerra, Jessica Hill, Vicki Hicks, Randall Horton, Sandra Jackson, Catherine LaFleur, Ada Limn, Sarah Lynn Maatsch, Christopher Malec, Eduardo Martinez, John Murillo, Angel Nafis, Kenneth Nadeau, Leeann Parker, James Pearl, Christina Pernini, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, Patrick Rosal, Nicole Sealey, Evie Shockley, Patricia Smith, Sin Tes Souhaits, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, Erica ""Ewok"" Walker, Candace Williams, and SHE>i

Full Product Details

Author:   Diana Marie Delgado ,  Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Publisher:   Haymarket Books
Imprint:   Haymarket Books
ISBN:  

9798888904466

Pages:   256
Publication Date:   04 March 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Foreword: The Army of the Wronged, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Introduction, Diana Marie Delgado I. Time Rules this Empire: Where Clocks Stand Still  : .OR. THIS MALUS THING NEVER TO BE CONFUSED WITH JUSTICE, Randall Horton ALL THE TV SHOWS ARE ABOUT COPS, Hanif Abdurraqib TRAP noun. \ˈtrap\, Sin á Tes Souhaits Marriage, Rhionna Anderson WHICH IS IT?, Christopher Malec BLOOD HISTORY, Reginald Dwayne Betts Architect 1, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal Lost, Sandra Jackson Under Correction I, Natalie Diaz Behind the Wall, Christina Pernini II. Be Careful How You Speak about Rainbows: Beauty & Grace A.G.A.M., Eduardo Martinez Bloom, Catherine LaFleur Eclogue: A Field Guide and Cure, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo Scattered like Yellow Feathers, Kennedy Gisege En las primeras décadas del nuevo siglo, Raquel Salas Rivera In the first decades of the new century, Raquel Salas Rivera Knees Next to Their Wallets, Tongo Eisen-Martin D.O.C. “department of castration,” Pat Ewok III. The Bill is Past Due: The Hustle 10 Toes Down, Sin á Tes Souhaits If I were a Boy, Leeann Parker The Ballad of Stagolee, or Variation on a Theme by Sterling A. Brown with a Slight Nod to Etheridge Knight, John Murillo  Political Arithmetic, Brian Batchelor  black, body, Candace Williams ALL THE TV SHOWS ARE ABOUT COPS, Hanif Abdurraquib Everything I Know About Horses, Kenneth Nadeau IV: American Inferno: Inside the Cell Free, Leeann Parker american inferno, Evie Shockley ORDER’S UP, Christopher Malec FLASHBACK TO THE CELL, Randall Horton Devour , Catherine LaFleur Cellfish, SHE>i Break from Madness, Kennedy A. Gisege cinderblock calendars, Eduardo Martinez Under Correction II, Natalie Diaz ONLY ONE CLOCK, Patricia Smith V. What Is Caged Is Also Kept from Us: The People The First Day, Vicki Hicks BUT THE PHONE RINGS SOMETIMES, Patricia Smith What is Caged is Also Kept From Us, Ada Limón When Every Word is a Name, Reginald Dwayne Betts Reasons, Jessica Hill Sometimes I Wonder if God Really Fuck With Me Like That, Sin á Tes Souhaits can’t unsee, Evie Shockley Identity of a Prisoner, Cody Bruce My Father the Sahib, James Pearl Gustavo Guerra, Vacillating Click!, Sarah Lynn Maatsch Ghazal to Open Cages, Angel Nafis VI. The Nakedness Dark Demands: Surveillance and Shapeshifting Architect 3, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal Pages Thirteen to Twenty-One from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure, Nicole Sealey Brutality, Marina Bueno Under Correction III, Natalie Diaz Sonnet Triptych, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo  La promiscuidad tan indeseable, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera  Such undesirable promiscuity, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera  VII. Like A Hammer Across the Page: The Poor, Friendless & Black Black Boy with Cow, A Still Life, Nikky Finney Notes Acknowledgments Biographies

Reviews

""The range of voices and variety is what makes an anthology worth reading, and Like a Hammer offers the reader a kaleidoscope of textures. No weak poem exists within these pages; each is intensely vivid and sharp."" —Rachel León, Chicago Review of Books “This poetry obliterates all that we have been told about the imprisoned, their families, their communities.” —Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, from the foreword “Like a Hammer is an abundance—of brilliance, of wisdom, of compassion, of joy as an antidote for pain, and hope that beats back despair.  —Mitchell S. Jackson, author of Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family “Like A Hammer gathers voices we must uplift, and in so doing, uplift ourselves.” —Khadijah Queen, author of Radical Poetics: Essays on Literature & Culture “With nuance and rhythm, these poets take up the mantle of modern blues singers, witnessing America’s incarceration problem with heart and soul. ” —Caits Meissner, editor of The Sentences that Create Us

Author Information

Diana Marie Delgado is a poet, editor, playwright, and author of Tracing the Horse (BOA Editions, 2019) and Late-Night Talks with Men I Think I Trust (Center for Book Arts, 2015). With extensive experience in executive leadership, Delgado is committed to uplifting writers and cultivating vibrant creative communities. She holds degrees from UC Riverside and Columbia University's MFA program in poetry and resides in Tucson, Arizona. , among others. Taylor is Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University.

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