Toi Derricotte

Aug 12, 2024 | poetryfoundation.org | Toi Derricotte

How can we wakefrom a dreamwe are born into,that shines around us,the terrible bright air? Having awakened,having seen our own bloody hands,how can we ask forgiveness,bring before our children the realmonster of their nightmares? –Toi Derricotte, “A Note on My Son’s Face”Poet, educator, and memoirist Toi Derricotte has written six collections of poetry, including “I”: New and Selected Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), a finalist for the 2019 National Book Awards.

Oct 5, 2023 | internazionale.it | Toi Derricotte

Perché c’è troppo da direPerché non ho nulla da direPerché non so cosa direPerché tutto è stato dettoPerché fa troppo male direChe posso dire che posso direQualcosa è bloccato nella mia golaQualcosa è bloccato come una melaQualcosa è bloccato come un coltelloQualcosa è imbottito come un piedeQualcosa è imbottito come un corpo Toi Derricotte è una poeta afroamericana nata nel 1941. Insieme a Cornelius Eady ha creato Cave canem, una fondazione che promuove la poesia afroamericana.

May 15, 2023 | poetryfoundation.org | Toi Derricotte

I’m turning the world of poetry over to Franny Choi I’m leaving the world of poetry to Franny Choi I’m giving the world of poetry to Franny Choi I feel confident leaving the world of poetry to Franny Choi I’m not sorry to give the world of poetry to Franny Choi I feel poetry will be OK in the hands of Franny Choi I’m not afraid for poetry as long as we have Franny Choi It’s going to be a different world of poetry with Franny Choi It’s going to be an amazing world of poetry with Franny Choi...

May 8, 2023 | poetryfoundation.org | Toi Derricotte

Forty years ago, I didn’t know how innocent He was, how little he knew of the damage The truth was meant to do. My father taught me: You have to break the bones To get to the heart, Practice the art of self- Killing, and bloody your hands With the blood of your teachers. In fourth grade, like a saint, I whipped My back with a hair- Brush. O biblical Jehovah, You made the hands of the fathers Suspect. The Holy Innocents. Wholly slaughtered.

Apr 12, 2023 | poetryfoundation.org | Toi Derricotte

The most popular “act” in Penn Station is the three black kids in ratty sneakers & T-shirts playing two violins and a cello—Brahms. White men in business suits have already dug into their pockets as they pass and they toss in a dollar or two without stopping. Brown men in work-soiled khakis stand with their mouths open, arms crossed on their bellies as if they themselves have always wanted to attempt those bars.