Letters to America: Contemporary American Poetry on Race

Letters to America penetrates to the core of the volatile topic of race with poems addressing civil rights, humor, interracial love, segregation, immigration, stereotypes, and violence, among other subjects.

Letters to America features the work of poets who have had the courage to write about race with honesty and passion. Speaking from the experience of Black, Native American, Asian, Arabic, Indian, Hispanic, and white culture, their diverse voices unite in a dialogue of poems which acknowledge and celebrate our differences while exploring America's shameful history of racial intolerance. The poets in this anthology include Gwendolyn Brooks, Charles Bukowski, Joy Harjo, Langstong Hughes, Sharon Olds, James Wright, Etheridge Knight, Gary Soto, Garrett Kaoru Hongo, Audre Lorde, David Ignatwo, and others.