Why am I passionate about this?
I am Monique âNikkiâ Murphy, an awarded poet, author, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional. I grew up in a Black low-income neighborhood with the love of a single mother and the absence of a father, which all impacted the way I experienced the failed promise of justice and equality for all. My mother, an avid reader of Black novels, fostered a love of reading in me and a deep sensitivity to caring about the issues that affected Black people. This sensitivity manifested in a career in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and a love of creative writing & books that explore issues of inequality, trauma, and personal development. As a poet, I love the artistic exploration of our lived experiences and art that inspires activism.
Monique's book list on poetry that explore communities of color
Why did Monique love this book?
Yrsa-Daley Ward is a complete sentence. Her work is everything and even Beyonce took note, bringing her on to write for Black Is King. Her debut poetry collection, Bone, introduced me to a perspective that I had not explored: that of a first-generation black British queer woman. Yet and still, her experience and words resonated so deeply, highlighting the interconnectivity of the African diaspora, and particularly, Black women. It shined a light on issues of sexual assault, religion, and societyâs expectations of women, which are some of the same issues that I write about. And despite the trauma captured in the poems, it has an overarching inspirational message for all of us:
âYou will come away bruised.
You will come away bruised
but this will give you poetry.â
1 author picked Bone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
âyrsa daley-wardâs bone is a symphony of breaking and mending. . . . she lays her hands on the pulse of the thing. . . . an expert storyteller. of the rarest. and purest kind.â ânayyirah waheed, author of salt.
From the celebrated poet Yrsa Daley-Ward, a poignant collection of poems about the heart, life, and the inner self.
Foreword by Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
Bone. Visceral. Close to. Stark.
The poems in Yrsa Daley-Wardâs collection bone are exactly that: reflections on a particular life honed to their essenceâso clear and pared-down, they become universal.
FromâŚ