“The scenes of the collection shine bright as the author tells us of the sensual, bold and unforgiving experience of growing up black in America!” shouts Madcreek Books, an imprint of the Ohio State University Press, about our esteemed guest’s latest collection of work, A More Perfect Union. Teri Ellen Cross Davis works her experience, music, identity, sexuality and vulnerability into the power of poetry.  Teri is unafraid to change the narrative and swim under the sea of truth.  She is a distinguished scholar and author with her multi award winning collections of movements through her revolutionary thought.  Teri is a mother of 2 , a wife and an artist.  As a bonus track, she is also a huge fan of Donna Summer and Prince.  Tune in to listen to the beauty of her colorful worlds and she shares her story with JD today.

What You Will Hear:

• The influences that led Teri to start writing poetry.
• Imbedding the importance of language.
• When Teri finally proclaimed herself a poet.
• Children and poetry.
• How being a mother has informed her journey.
• Having balance and the influence of the news cycle.
• Knucklehead, poem reading.
• Code switching.
• Introducing and the beauty of the black vernacular.
• Furious Flower Poetry Center
• The Goddess of Cleaning, poem reading.
• The Goddess of Scars, poem reading.
• When I Am the Only One in the Room
• The secret to Teri and her husband’s bond.

Quotes:

“Poetry is where my heart and my soul is and that’s where my people are.”

“We have to let lose the constrictions that society presses upon us to navigate our souls in such a way to make us more consumable.”

“The real poets are the children because they haven't learned to constrict themselves and their thought process yet.”

“What you get in a giddy up is what you get in a round up.”

“You ain’t got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.”

Mentioned:

Bookshop.org

GivalPress

Cave Canem

Knucklehead

Furious Flower Poetry Center 

Solid State Books

Twitter @cross_davis

IG @haint_poet

poetsandparents.com

Nikki Giovanni

Toi Derricotte

Cornelius Eady

Lucille Clifton

Sonia Sanchez

Micheal Harper

Elizabeth Alexander

Harriett Mullen