1. Under a sexual sky you coughed swords Read more →

Another legend gone. And more than a legend, she was a force! Novelist, editor, professor, and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died on August 5 at age eighty-eight. Pick any book from her bibliography, and you will be mesmerized by her command of prose, her power to conjure up the ambience and lived-in feeling of Black communities and their heroines and heroes to the finest, vibrant detail. She was Black love, Black resilience, and Black brilliance personified. There won’t be another writer like her. Read more →

Today is International Women’s Day, a global day to honor and celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments of women. Observed since the early 1900s, it marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality. This year’s campaign theme, #BeBoldForChange, implores us to help build a more inclusive, gender-equal world. It also coincides with the “Day Without a Woman” general strike, organized to bring attention to the inequalities women still face, including lower wages, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity. Women in thirty-five countries are participating in the strike. Read more →

By Nicholas DiSabatino | Dear Sister Sonia: We’ve never met in person, yet we’ve spoken on the phone dozens of occasions since I joined Beacon Press back in 2012. I’ve been so blessed to work with you as your publicist these past few years. It’s a strange feeling to “know” someone only via the phone. I feel in some ways like we’re long distance pen pals, even though you’re only in Philadelphia and I’m in Boston. I’ve come to expect that particular warmth in your voice whenever we speak and I hear that familiar “Brother Nicholas, any calls?” from you. It’s part of who you are as a person and an artist Read more →

We're celebrating Valentine's Day with a haiku sequence from poet, activist, and scholar Sonia Sanchez. Read more →

Find out more about Morning Haiku and how you can win a poster with a poem by Sonia Sanchez. Read more →

We invite you to join the poet Maya Angelou called, "a lion in literature's forest," as she lifts her voice in tribute to Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. Read more →

A poem celebrating nine black women who changed history. Read more →

As a companion to today's post from Helene Atwan about attending a 75th birthday celebration for poet Sonia Sanchez, here is a poem from Sanchez's forthcoming Morning Haiku, written for the poet Eugene Redmond. 4 haiku (for Eugene Redmond) 1.... Read more →

For Poetry Month, Sonia Sanchez shares a poem from her forthcoming collection of haiku. Read more →