Introducing our first publication: a collection of poems from the “I, Too, Am America” project
From the Editor:
WHO GETS TO SAY, “I, TOO, AM AMERICA?”
If the world seems ominous and foreboding today, imagine what Washington, D.C. was like in the 1920’s for Langston Hughes. For a Black writer at that time to say, “I, too, sing America,” and “They’ll see how beautiful I am,” is a testimony to life and to courage. We are living in an unprecedented time that can trap us in a cauldron of fears: mutating viruses, wars, inflation, new wave after wave of racism, and police brutality. With the “I, Too, Am America” project, we seek to arm today’s residents with the courage and confidence to share their stories and voices.
Dwayne Lawson-Brown and KaNikki Jakarta (Busboys & Poets Literary curators) and I gathered with DC residents to create poetry inspired by Hughes’ poems: The Kids Will Die, Let America Be America Again, and As I Grew Older. We have worked together to hear Langston’s fearless truths and to step into the world where the forces of darkness and light find a hopeful direction through the fierce fire of poetry. I have always said: the world may not be sturdy, but poetry will hold us up. The following is a collection of poems that represents work created through this project.
Huge shout-out to Jessica Wallach, Amplify US Literary Arts Journal: Editor and Production Manager, and to Arianna Ross’ “Amplify US” vision to galvanize communities for hope and understanding.
Regie Cabico
Poet, Editor, Publisher
KaNikki Jakarta
LeeAnn McKinnon
Susan Scheid
Kim Roberts Meikle
Connie Rinehart
Ray Mobley
Yemiya
Soo-Jin Lee
Ann-Marie Maloney
Walker Valdez
