'Silencer to the Heart While Jogging Through a Park''s ending makes reference to George Zimmerman's acquittal in the murder of Trayvon Martin. The political optics were a deep source of inspiration for the poem. After Sassing an Officer Who Assumed He'd Unlawfully Entered His Own Home' makes reference to the so-called 'Beer Summit' President Obama hosted at the White House for Gates, the officer, and Vice President Joe Biden. 'Silencer on the Arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. 'Shibboleth' was inspired by the West Wing episode bearing the same title. 'Plea to My Jealous Heart' was written after reading 'The Unceasing Prayer of Mount Athos: A Short Trip to the Edge' by Scott Cairns. 'Nocturne with Revelations & Militant Black Jesus' was inspired by Public Enemy's 1990 album, Fear of a Black Planet.

'In My 31st Year' begins with an epigraph from this 1994 2Pac interview. The poem makes reference to this Sandra Bland dash cam video. 'Conjecture on the Stained Glass Image of White Christ at Ebenezer Baptist Church' was incited by this image at the historic Atlanta, GA, house of worship formerly pastored by Dr. 'Blue Faces' was triggered by the Kendrick Lamar song bearing the same title, as well as the legendary Roots music video for 'What They Do.' To request a review copy, please be in touch with Leila Meglio at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. If you'd like a printed copy, be in touch! REVIEWSĬopies of Silencer are available for those interested in writing a review or conducting an interview. Please note: this is a digital copy of the EP that we are distributing for Silencer, and it only includes three of the six poems. 'For a while I was worried that I was being silenced, and so, as a kind of therapy, I began writing 'silencers'-poems that address gun violence and police brutality against African Americans in the news, without specifically invoking case details.'įlip through the Digital EP by clicking on the image below, or download a PDF here.

Animal Farm by George Orwell