#ThatBlackCouple Season 4 Episode 7: Honoring Black Poets and the Struggle of Being a Black Writer

Jenn and Daren tribute Black writers in this episode for National Poetry Month. They start by highlighting Black poets that every reader should have on their pull list including Nate Marshall, Claudia Rankine, and Donika Kelly. Daren then dives into hard facts and figures related to how white-dominated the writing and publishing industry is, and how that can bring about specific challenges for Black writers. They share how difficult it can be to find people within the industry that understand your work, to find support for your art, and to find confidence in your own voice.

In the end, Jenn and Daren share the personal struggles they have faced as writers and express how perfection can be the enemy of your writing success.

Black Poets You Should Be Reading:
Nate Marshall – Wild Hundreds
https://amzn.to/3ZQwheT
Claudia Rankine – Citizen
https://amzn.to/43e5UCG
Warsan Shire – Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems
https://amzn.to/3ZWnPup
Terrance Hayes – American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
https://amzn.to/3m3peBS
Jericho Brown – The Tradition
https://amzn.to/3MkMiXa
Donika Kelly – Bestiary
https://amzn.to/3ZJDixR
Danez Smith – Don’t Call Us Dead
https://amzn.to/3m3oL2A
Morgan Parker – Magical Negro
https://amzn.to/3UbZH5O

Reference Material:
NYT: Just How White Is the Book Industry?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/11/opinion/culture/diversity-publishing-industry.html

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Podcast Summary:
This is an accidentally funny podcast about the realities of Blackness and adult life. We do “adult” differently. We are That Black Couple.
Our goal is to create a space for Black millennials to discuss and embody adult life on their own terms. We aren’t beholden to “traditional” gender or parenting roles, queerness is fluid and present in the ways we show up in our relationships and in the world, and we want to build community with other 30-something Black folx who are trying to figure this ish out.