Split This Rock Presents: 23 Poems for 2023
Image Description: Split This Rock’s red logo is aligned to the left with white text in a solid black box under it that reads "23 Poems for 2023." Collaged photos in square frames of the 23 featured poets surround the text. From left to right in the top row are photos of Venus Thrash, adrienne maree brown, Camisha L. Jones, Naomi Ortiz, and Ross Gay. From left to right in the second row is Kyle Dargan, Ching-In Chen, Deema K. Shehabi, and Destiny Hemphill. From left to right in the third row is leilani portillo, H. Melt, Chen Chen, Mahogany L. Browne, Patricia Smith, Noor Ibn Najam, and Justice Ameer. From left to right in the bottom row is Paul Tran, Carmin Wong, Arisa White, Joshua Jennifer Espinoza, Saretta Morgan, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, and Bianca Lynne Spriggs.
Support This Home for Social Justice Poetry!
There's still time to support Split This Rock in 2022! If you read and loved, shared, or taught poems from The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database this year, please consider making an increased or first-time donation today to support this home for social justice poetry. Plus, if you donate $25 or more, become a monthly donor for $10 or more, or fundraise for Split This Rock on Facebook or Instagram by 11:59 pm ET on December 31, you could receive a curated book bundle from the staff and board! Learn more about the books in each bundle, who is eligible for the giveaway, how to set up Facebook and Instagram fundraisers, and more at this web page.
You can make an online donation through Split This Rock’s online giving portal or via mail. To donate by mail, send a check payable to "Split This Rock" to Split This Rock, 1301 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20036.
23 Poems for 2023
Throughout the month, we’ve been shining a spotlight on poems that lit us up this year. To celebrate the beginning of the upcoming new year, we're excited to share 23 poems to bring us into 2023 from The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database! These are the poems that we are holding close as we're resting during the shorter winter days and dreaming into the new year. We'll be back the first Friday in January with a fresh Poem of the Week hot off the press! Until then, we invite you to discover and rediscover these 23 poems:
- “spell for reclaiming the moment” by adrienne maree brown
- “America, I Sing Back” by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
- “My Dead” by Arisa White
- “To the woman I saw today who wept in her car” by Bianca Lynne Spriggs
- “My Hair Starts the Revolution” by Camisha L. Jones
- “The Proper Way to Prepare the U.S. Flag” by Carmin Wong
- “Set the Garden on Fire” by Chen Chen
- “Lantern Letter: a Zuihitsu” by Ching-In Chen
- “Migrant Earth” by Deema K. Shehabi
- “we ask mama-n-em, ‘where is the motherworld?’” by Destiny Hemphill
- “Every Day Is A Trans Day” by H. Melt
- “This Is What Makes Us Worlds” by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza
- “when white supremacy kills me” by Justice Ameer
- “Poem Resisting Arrest” by Kyle Dargan
- “believe me” by leilani portillo
- “Do not make Grief your God” by Mahogany L. Browne
- “Tonight: Rebellious Resistance” by Naomi Ortiz
- “ يقبرني to bury me. you take your turn first” by Noor Ibn Najam
- “VOODOO V: ENEMY BE GONE” by Patricia Smith
- “The Santa Ana” by Paul Tran
- “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian” by Ross Gay
- “One Scenario” by Saretta Morgan
- “Uncivil” by Venus Thrash
This list of poems is curated by the folks who worked behind the scenes this year to make Split This Rock's magic happen, including staff, board members, teaching artists, the Poem of the Week reader team, and publications coordinator. From all of us to you: we hope all the poems we share blossom into an infinite resource of creative stimulation, activation, inspiration, and nourishment for you.
Thank you for reading!
With deep gratitude, and wishing you connection and safety in the new year,
Split This Rock