I’m not done!
Currently at work on two manuscripts:
OFF THE SHORE OF ONESELF
primarily essays
if you want an idea of the poetry involved you can see (and hear) these poems from the suite—
off the shore of oneself as in… & off the shore of oneself again, published by the Academy of American Poets & NO NIIN Magazine, respectivelymore poems from the suite are to be published by this summer (2026)!
here’s a sample essay—“the yellow car,” published in Roxane Gay’s The Audacity, edited by Meg Pillow
the essays navigate themes including but not limited to…
Family/Kinship, especially Sistership (sisterhood & spirit), Abolition & System Impact, Jazz & Hip-Hop, Black Thought & Creativity, the DMV, Greater Atlanta, the History of African-American Journalism, the pursuit of writing, lots of heart…
AS IF MY COUNTRY
second poetry manuscript
began while I was supposed to be working on my essay collection and my essay collection only while at Château de Lavigny—my first residency in Europe!
features poems like “in my own reign I suffered”
key concepts include authority, sovereignty, being out of one’s depth, alternate kinship, love’s immensity, chronic illness, grief, liberation, salvation, and more
GET THE “CASUAL CONVERSATION” AUDIOBOOK
-
“The only thing we can expect from this unpredictable and engaging poet is that she will make each destination an inevitable stopping place.”
-
"Casual Conversation is both important and good. These poems are successful because of White’s skill with craft and mastery of voice. They are important because of their themes, their refusal to look away from the horrors of the American past or its present. This book’s literary accomplishment and cultural significance make it a necessary collection for the 21st century."
-
"While the collection offers a bird’s eye view of racism, brutality, incarceration, it is punctuated by poignant specificity....The arguments in these poems are clear, weighty, and impactful, whether they are grandiose or personal."