Māori Pocahontas, a Redacted DOJ Report, and More Poetry for the Club

The payoff for this seems way too big for how easy it is to make.

You just need: sugar, butter, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, milk, and blueberries. @lovevivvv shows how to do it on her Instagram, as well as in print on her Substack.

The Sealey Challenge is named for Nicole Sealey, the award-winning poet who started the challenge in 2017. This collection looks at the ways Black lives have been erased — both literally and physically, as well as in public records — by honing in on what happened in 2014 to Michael Brown in Ferguson. And I have to say, the way she goes about it is striking: she uses the Department of Justice’s official report — which described the policing and justice system of the city as racist — and redacts it. The contents of the report are visible just past the words that Sealey has bolded, which gives an entirely new interpretation of the text.

This collection has won the Whiting Award and the Alice James Award. Lush and rich, these poems look at how Brown bodies are nourished, by food, language, and wherever they call home. Cariño looks beyond trauma, instead focusing on community, bonds, and how those across the diaspora connect to each other.

The publication date has shifted a bit with this one, so just make sure to keep an eye out for it. James looks at the body, and how one connects to their own. How the dynamics — between self and body and body and society — change, as well as how the world relates to Black queerness.

Tibble dives into the many aspects of her identity. She looks at how Indigenous Māori traditions fit into her modern reality, discussing everything from the Kardashians to Twilight with lyricism and humor. Mythologies, stereotypes, pop culture, and the effects of colonization are all broken down and looked at, and Tibble shows where you can find her in them.