From J. Drew Lanham, MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and author of
Sparrow Envy: A Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts
, comes a sensuous new collection in his signature mix of poetry and prose.
In gorgeous and timely pieces,
Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves
is a lush journey into wildness and Black being. Lanham notices nature through seasonal shifts, societal unrest, and deeply personal reflection and traces a path from bitter history to the present predicament. Drawing canny connections between the precarity of nature and the long arm of racism, the collection offers reconciliation and eco-reparation as hopeful destinations from our current climate of division. In
Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves
, Lanham mines the deep connection to ancestors through the living world and tunes his unique voice toward embracing the radical act of joy.