Anthology of "Poetic Responses to Trump's America" Released

February 14, 2018

Anthology coverOn Friday, February 9, New York Quarterly Books released Misrepresented People: Poetic Responses to Trump’s America, an anthology of poetry edited by María Isabel Alvarez and Dante Di Stefano.

“Through our craft, we can bear witness to—and offer resistance against—the criminals in the White House and the inequities underpinning daily American life and US foreign policy,” said Di Stefano in a note published on LitHub. “The anthology’s purpose is to bear witness to, rage against, and defy the misogyny, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and authoritarian impulses that have always surrounded us, but that are incarnated in the 45th president; proceeds will be donated to The National Immigration Law Center.”

The anthology features a wide range of contemporary poets. Contributing authors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Kaveh Akbar, Fatimah Asghar, Matthew Olzmann, Kevin Prufer, Camille Rankine, Patricia Smith, and AWP’s own Christian Teresi, among many others.

“The poets in this anthology bring a spirit of not just resistance and dissent, but of creating that new future,” said poet Kazim Ali.

“So maybe a poem never changed anyone’s vote. But I’m emboldened by these poets, as I believe poetry changes—it deepens, widens, enchants, enlivens, and empowers—every single reader’s mind. Let’s name the brutal, resist the greedy, condemn the unjust, and in Timothy Liu’s words defend ‘this scorned tract of earth called home.’ And let’s do it with song,” declared David Baker.

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