Wed, Apr 15, 7 - 9pm
Event Location
Booked
Poetry is back at Booked Club--just in time for Poetry Month! Join us to read a new collection of poetry from Diamond Forde.
The Book Of Alice
Title
Book of Alice: Poems
Price
$18.99
Available In Store
WINNER OF THE 2025 JAMES LAUGHLIN AWARD FROM THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS A stunning new collection exploring lineage and the legacy of survival as seen through the life of the poet's grandmother Alice--a Black woman born in the Jim Crow South--using the King James Bible as a narrative framework. "Alice / a god-song, swings still in the high / branch of our throats. I miss her, wonder / what she plants in heaven's mulch." When her grandmother died, poet Diamond Forde inherited a well-worn family Bible to remember her by. In The Book of Alice, she retells the story of her grandmother's life through the framework of the only poetry Alice knew: the King James Bible. A Black woman born in the Jim Crow South, Alice joined the tide of the Great Migration when she made her exodus to New York City. She married, divorced, and raised eight children, all while struggling to define herself in an America that looks frighteningly like our own. Using found forms like recipes, a family tree, and a US Census Report alongside imagined psalms and scriptures, Diamond draws bold parallels between biblical narratives and the lived experiences of those often relegated to the margins of history. The result is both a heartfelt elegy and a new sacred text.
SKU
9781668078402
The Book Of Alice
$18.99
Available In Store
Description
WINNER OF THE 2025 JAMES LAUGHLIN AWARD FROM THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS A stunning new collection exploring lineage and the legacy of survival as seen through the life of the poet's grandmother Alice--a Black woman born in the Jim Crow South--using the King James Bible as a narrative framework. "Alice / a god-song, swings still in the high / branch of our throats. I miss her, wonder / what she plants in heaven's mulch." When her grandmother died, poet Diamond Forde inherited a well-worn family Bible to remember her by. In The Book of Alice, she retells the story of her grandmother's life through the framework of the only poetry Alice knew: the King James Bible. A Black woman born in the Jim Crow South, Alice joined the tide of the Great Migration when she made her exodus to New York City. She married, divorced, and raised eight children, all while struggling to define herself in an America that looks frighteningly like our own. Using found forms like recipes, a family tree, and a US Census Report alongside imagined psalms and scriptures, Diamond draws bold parallels between biblical narratives and the lived experiences of those often relegated to the margins of history. The result is both a heartfelt elegy and a new sacred text.
Description
WINNER OF THE 2025 JAMES LAUGHLIN AWARD FROM THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS A stunning new collection exploring lineage and the legacy of survival as seen through the life of the poet's grandmother Alice--a Black woman born in the Jim Crow South--using the King James Bible as a narrative framework. "Alice / a god-song, swings still in the high / branch of our throats. I miss her, wonder / what she plants in heaven's mulch." When her grandmother died, poet Diamond Forde inherited a well-worn family Bible to remember her by. In The Book of Alice, she retells the story of her grandmother's life through the framework of the only poetry Alice knew: the King James Bible. A Black woman born in the Jim Crow South, Alice joined the tide of the Great Migration when she made her exodus to New York City. She married, divorced, and raised eight children, all while struggling to define herself in an America that looks frighteningly like our own. Using found forms like recipes, a family tree, and a US Census Report alongside imagined psalms and scriptures, Diamond draws bold parallels between biblical narratives and the lived experiences of those often relegated to the margins of history. The result is both a heartfelt elegy and a new sacred text.
ISBN
9781668078402
Publisher
Publication Date
January 20, 2026
Binding
Paperback
Item Condition
New
Language
English
Pages
96
Keywords
Poetry | Subjects & Themes | Family; Poetry | American | African American & Black; Poetry | Women Authors
Show QR Code
False
RSVP Event
Off