"I feel like these poems tell stories in and of themselves. And perhaps as an entire collection, they tell a greater story. … We're human beings — people laugh, love, hope, dream, dance, smile, live, die, just like everybody else. And Black people need to be reminded of that, and everybody else needs to be reminded of that."

This Is the Honey is the new poetry collection edited by Kwame Alexander featuring carefully curated poems from contemporary Black poets. Alexander joins us on the show to talk about compiling a collection of pieces, his own connections to this work and themes of identity and community with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books (Episode):

This Is the Honey edited by Kwame Alexander

Why Fathers Cry at Night by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander