BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2

Poet and vocalist Jamila Woods was raised in Chicago, IL and graduated from Brown University, where she earned a BA in Africana Studies and Theatre & Performance Studies. Influenced by Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks, much of her writing explores blackness, womanhood and the city of Chicago.Mahogany L. Browne is a Cave Canem and Poets House alumnae and the author of several books including Smudge and Redbone. She directs the poetry program of the Nuyorican Poets Café.Idrissa Simmonds is a fiction writer and poet. Her work has appeared in Black Renaissance Noire, The Caribbean Writer, Fourteen Hills Press, and elsewhere. She is the 2014 winner of the Crab Creek Review poetry contest, and a NYFA and Commonwealth Short Story Award Finalist.

“The poems in the collection, influenced by the rhythms, lyricism, and expressiveness of hip-hop music and culture, speak to the many dimensions of black womanhood.”—Poets & Writers“This anthology celebrates the works of Black women from all corners of the diaspora, exploring themes of beauty, unapologetic blackness, intersectionality, self-definition, and more.”—Teen Vogue“Black Girl Magic features more than 60 writers using vivid imagery and crackling language to embrace their vulnerabilities and push against stereotypes that erase Black women’s lived experiences, instead honoring the richly variant forms and stories of Black womanhood… In a world that seems hell bent on the degradation of Black women and girls, hope can often seem like an unattainable luxury. Yet the beauty of Black Girl Magic lies in its defiance of that narrative pushed by patriarchal white supremacy.”—Broadly“These dense, entrancing, necessary works by more than 60 black women poets create a black-girl-centric world of their own. The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic is a well-rounded look at what it means to be a black woman and in the process serves as a platform for our voices and bodies, revealing our maneuvers through the world as deeply relevant to and deserving of literary space.”—Chicago Reader“An enthralling, deep, beautiful and heartbreaking dive into the world of Black women. Black Girl Magic offers an insightful and necessary look at what it means to be black, resolute and have a platform to share it loud and proudly.”—Okayplayer“One of the most important volumes of poetry in recent years.”—Dazed“Written by and for black women, these poems disrupt myths and stereotypes and present expansive perspectives on black womanhood.”—Newcity