This episode features our conversation with M. Nzadi Keita, which was live-streamed on April 14, 2024 during National Poetry Month.

M. Nzadi Keita's new poetry collection, Migration Letters (Beacon Press, April 2, 2024), reflects on Black working-class identity and culture in Philadelphia. Her second book, Brief Evidence of Heaven (Whirlwind Press, 2014), shed light on Anna Murray Douglass, Frederick Douglass’ first wife and was cited in David Blight ‘s prize-winning biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, Her writing appears in anthologies and journals such as A Face to Meet the Faces: A Persona Poetry Anthology, Killens Review of Arts and Letters, and About Place. Keita won a Pew Fellow in Poetry, a Leeway Foundation Transformation Award, and served as an adviser to the documentary, BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez. For many years, she taught creative writing, American literature, and Africana Studies at Ursinus College.

Her latest book, Migration Letters, is a poetry collection that takes a closer look at what it means to be Black in America just after the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. This new addition to Beacon Press’s “Raised Voices Poetry Series” centers on Black working-class Philadelphia from the 1960s to the present day. Migration Letters shares a story about Black people that resonates across generations—Black people innovating, learning by doing, teaching by witnessing, and evolving in spite of themselves.

To learn more about Nzadi and her work, please visit www.zeekeita.com.

Find Nzadi on Instagram: @nzadikeita

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Happy National Poetry Month! Launched in April of 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month celebrates the literary traditions sustained by this mode of storytelling. Thank you so very much to every single poet who has joined me on this platform.

This episode features our conversation with Nandi Comer (poetry.), which was live-streamed on April 7, 2024.

Nandi Comer is the Poet Laureate of Michigan. She is the author of American Family: A Syndrome (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and Tapping Out (Triquarterly, 2020), which was awarded the 2020 Society of Midland Authors Award and the 2020 Julie Suk Award. She is a Cave Canem Fellow, a Callaloo Fellow, and a 2019 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow. She is the co-director of Detroit Lit, a project that provides reading and professional development opportunities for narrative makers of color in Detroit.

To learn more about Nandi and her work, please visit nandicomer.com.

Find Nandi on Instagram: @nandicomer

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This episode features our conversation with Chana Shinegba, which was live-streamed on March 30, 2024.

Chana Shinegba, a gifted storyteller, embodies the spirit of resilience and creativity that defines her generation. Coming of age as a young Black girl in the vibrant but complex landscape of the 1980s and 1990s, Chana grappled with acknowledging her innate talents amidst the backdrop of societal expectations and personal fears.

From a tender age, Chana’s artistic prowess manifested in various forms. While her first haiku, penned at age five, hinted at her literary inclinations, her enchanting dance moves initially stole the spotlight. Yet, beneath the graceful exterior, her passion for storytelling simmered, finding expression within the pages of her childhood diary, where poems and short stories danced with vivid imagination.

Chana’s literary journey took flight through her academic years, where her adept writing skills shone brightly. Her knack for words also made her the go- to person for leading literary endeavors among family and friends. However, it wasn't until a transformative experience at a summer journalism program at American University that Chana realized she didn’t want to be confined to traditional news reporting.


Embarking on a career in the hospitality industry, Chana immersed herself in the world of good food and even better company. Yet, her creative spirit remained undeterred, forging a bond with the pen that eventually blossomed into her debut novel, Dancer in the Bullpen, which blends elements of autobiographical fiction with magical realism. The novel speaks to those who, like Chana, have grappled with their sense of uniqueness and emerged empowered to embrace their true selves. Dancer in the Bullpen is scheduled for release this summer in June, published by Jaded Ibis Press.

This episode of Black Writers Read is presented in collaboration with Levee Break Lit.


To pre-order copies of Dancer in the Bullpen, please visit Barnes and Noble online.


Find Chana on Instagram: @chanalucky7

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