Memoir Poetry

The Weight of Whiteness is a memoir in poetry form of the author's awareness of her whiteness during the integration of Boston's public schools in the 1950s and during visits with her family in the segregated South. Deeply personal, the poems examine the author's thoughts and feelings as family and others react to her interracial marriage in 1966, the year before the US Supreme Court overturned as unconstitutional 16 states' laws prohibiting miscegenation.

The original edition of this book was written as a diary in poetry during the author’s personal journey through clinical depression. It carries his unique emotions and feelings experienced as a psychologist going through intensive therapy. However, this second edition is not just a book of poetry. It combines the feelings expressed in poetry with the cultivated prose of a writer and psychologist looking back at his days of depression. It then embarks on his twenty-five-year post depression journey that opened the door to a new life filled with the joys of just being alive.

This program is read by the author. In the literary tradition of Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, and Jesmyn Ward’s Men We Reaped, this debut memoir confronts both the challenges and joys of growing up Black and making your own truth...

New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance's heartrending collection of poetry and essays recounts a dark chapter of her own life, her first marriage to an alcoholic—a powerful look at the emotional cost of addiction and an inspiring story of courage and triumph in the wake of crushing...

Poetry. Literary nonfiction. Fiction. Drama. LGBTQIA studies. Women's studies. Compiled in one book for the first time, featuring both new and out-of-print pieces, the contents of The Judy Grahn Reader span four decades of work by the prominent writer and activist. This volume contains writing from every phase of Judy Grahn's career, including poems from all of her major poetry collections, a number of her groundbreaking essays, as well as selected fiction and the full-length play The Queen of Swords.

Vidyan Ravinthiran was born in the north of England to Sri Lankan Tamils, and moved to the United States five years ago. Considering identity in both its political and psychological senses, he leaps adventurously between memoir and criticism, understanding his life through poetry, and vice versa. This electric, compelling hybrid memoir discovers a new way of writing about the self and also literature.

A collection of poems written by someone who is no stranger to everyday struggles of love and mayhem. These poems vary in topics and length. Judith understands struggles and that with hope a little faith that strengthen our beliefs, there is always a brighter day tomorrow. With faith and understanding, the bitter realities of human relations makes us stronger today.

Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known.

The book chronicles, in poetic form, the life of a woman who, in three distinct and significant life events, feels she is “the other woman” to her husband, to her child, and even to herself, rather than the woman who is “good enough” just as she is. Not until she loses her eyesight does she finally allow herself to stop putting herself aside and be who she always has been—a strong, insightful, creative, resilient, faith driven, funny, and fun-loving woman. A resurrected woman!

From the psych ward to flight deck, from whispered goodbyes to quiet strength, I Remember You is a raw and unflinching book of poetry and prose by Navy veteran Patrick J. Hughes. Seamed from the unvarnished material of trauma, healing, fatherhood, friendship, and mental illness, these poems will find an echo within anyone who's ever stood in a doorway and wondered how to move forward. With a raw honesty and with unexpected graciousness, Hughes charts life after conflict, the unseen scars of depression and PTSD, and the lifelines of salvation that bind us when we are breaking.

Poet, educator, and social activist Gwendolyn Brooks was a singular force in American culture. The first Black woman to be named United States poet laureate, Brook’s poetry, fiction, and social commentary shed light on the beauty of humanity, the distinct qualities of Black life and community, and the destructive effects of racism, sexism, and class inequality. A collection of 30 essays combining critical analysis and personal reflection, The Whiskey of Our Discontent presents essential elements of Brooks' oeuvre - on race, gender, class, community, and poetic craft.

A look back at the cultural and political force of Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, in celebration of her hundredth birthday Artist–Rebel–Pioneer Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the great American literary icons of the twentieth century, a protégé of...

Abandoned by her hustling father, raised by her devoted mother, then battered by the winds of loss, heartbreak, and sexual assault, awarded diversity and inclusion leader and author Nikki Murphy exposes the undercurrents of resilience and faith that undergird her success in this riveting memoir-in-verse. Home for Hurricanes provides a sobering portrayal of both the jubilance and hardening of Black girls emanating from the ghettos, and Murphy celebrates their resolve to build free and whole lives.

Into the Goddesslands (1993-1995) is the first book of the Goddesslands Trilogy, a composite of vignettes, journal entries, poems, and dialogues with inner voices - the personal myth of Pamé La Calmette.

“An enchanting book—please read.” —Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE; Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace In this touching audiobook memoir about the relationship between father, daughter, and animals, Carole George explores life after adopting thirteen pet Karakul lambs...

Full of grit, humor, and a mystical urban romanticism, this debut book of prose from a poet soars through a landscape of broken hearts, broken machines, and the strident desire to live a fiercely uncommon life. From New Orleans to New York City and the miles of lost highway in between, Dickinson illuminates a colorful universe as it unfolds behind the wheel of these banged up yet beloved hunks of steel.

In Life Without a Net, author Don Severance has drawn upon interest in music and sports to present seven stories of challenge and compassion. The adventures are realistic and entertaining. Dr. Severance begins each story based on his life experiences, then enlarges the themes into dramatic works of fiction.

Ted Hughes married Sylvia Plath in 1956, at the outset of their brilliant careers. Plath's suicide six-and-a-half years later, for which many held Hughes accountable, changed his life, his closest relationships, his standing in the literary world, and brought new significance to his poetry.

Focused on faith and woven with Christian, ecumenical, and patriotic themes, Our Immigrants’ Son is an exploration and celebration of family. The genres of prose poetry and historical fiction very cleverly takes you through the author’s rich Irish American history. It begins in misty Ireland and takes you through generations of the Murphy clan while also teaching you how to write your family story.

From life in a suburban Western Pennsylvania steel town in the middle of the post-World War II baby boom, to contemplation in retirement, Though Oftentimes Better than Master of One is a collection of brief memoirs, recollections, and prose that is meant to be listened to in small portions, much like slowly sipping a cup of warm tea during a cold winter’s evening while relaxing in a reclining chair. These brief narratives describe events from the author’s youth, college years, career, and current day life in retirement.