Sharp, lyrical poems celebrating the Black vernacularits influence on pop culture, its necessity for familial survival, its rite in storytelling and in creating the safety found only within its intimacy

Definition offinna:finna/fin/ contraction:(1) going to; intending to [rooted in African American Vernacular English] (2) eye dialect spelling of fixing to (3) Black possibility; Black futurity; Blackness as tomorrow

These poemsconsider the brevity and disposability of Black lives and other oppressed people in our current era of emboldened white supremacy, and the use of the Black vernacular in Americas vast reserve of racial and gendered epithets.Finnaexplores the erasure of peoples in the American narrative; asks how gendered language can provoke violence; and finally, how the Black vernacular, expands our notions of possibility, giving us a new language of hope:

nothing about our people is romantic
& it shouldnt be. our people deserve
poetry without meter. we deserve our
own jagged rhythm & our own uneven
walk towards sun. you make happening happen.
we happen to love. this is our greatest
action.

Nate Marshallis an award-winning writer, rapper, educator, and editor. He is the author and editor of numerous works includingWild HundredsandThe BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop. Nate is a member of The Dark Noise Collective and co-directs Crescendo Literary. He is an assistant professor of English at Colorado College. He is from the South Side of Chicago.

• Paperback:128 pages
• Publisher:One World (August 11, 2020)
• Language:English
• ISBN-10:0593132459
• ISBN-13:9780593132456
• Product Dimensions:5.5 x 0.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight:5 ounces