This Is the Honey

An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets

By: Kwame Alexander

Narrated by: Mahogany L. Brown, Joel Damany Steingold

A breathtaking poetry collection on hope, heart, and heritage from the most prominent and promising Black poets and writers of our time, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander. In this comprehensive and vibrant poetry anthology, bestselling author and poet Kwame Alexander curates a collection of contemporary anthems at turns tender and piercing and deeply inspiring throughout. Featuring work from well-loved poets such as Rita Dove, Jericho Brown, Warsan Shire, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith, Terrance Hayes, Morgan Parker, and Nikki Giovanni, This Is the Honey is a rich and abundant offering of language from the poets giving voice to generations of resilient joy, “each incantation,” as Mahogany L. Browne puts it in her titular poem, is “a jubilee of a people dreaming wildly.”

This essential collection, in the tradition of Dudley Randall’s The Black Poets and E. Ethelbert Miller’s In Search of Color Everywhere, contains poems exploring joy, love, origin, race, resistance, and praise. Jacqueline A.Trimble likens “Black woman joy” to indigo, tassels, foxes, and peacock plumes. Tyree Daye, Nate Marshall, and Elizabeth Acevedo reflect on the meaning of “home” through food, from Cuban rice and beans to fried chicken gizzards. Clint Smith and Cameron Awkward-Rich enfold us in their intimate musings on love and devotion. From a “jewel in the hand” (Patricia Spears Jones) to “butter melting in small pools” (Elizabeth Alexander), This Is the Honey drips with poignant and delightful imagery, music, and raised fists.

Fresh, memorable, and deeply moving, this definitive collection a must-have for any lover of language and a gift for our time.

Critic reviews

"Anyone who wants to know what's going on in contemporary Black poetry should seek out this anthology."—Audiofile Earphones Award Winner

NEW DISCOVERY

So many talented and gifted uplifting young and not so young black/mixed raced artists. Some that I knew of others a new discovery at least (for me). I'll listen to it again and again.

This spoke to me.

This touched on the layers, depths, and expansion of me. This spoke to my past, my dreams, and the present me. Very relatable and I loved the creative expression as I sit in a moment feeling muffled.

A thoughtful collection 

I liked the way authors read each other’s poetry.  These poems made me think,  expanding my horizons.