Scorched Earth
Poems
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
2025 National Book Award Finalist
The striking sophomore poetry collection from the award-winning author of the “beautiful, vulnerable, honest” (Ross Gay, New York Times bestselling author) I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood.
Dive between the borders of ruined and radical love with this lyrical poetry collection that explores topics as expansive as divorce, the first Black Bachelorette, and the art world. Stanzas shift between reverence to irreverence as they take us on a journey through institutional and historical pains alongside sensuality and queer, Black joys.
From a generational voice that “earns a place among the pantheon of such emerging black poets as Eve L. Ewing, Nicole Sealey, and Airea D. Matthews” (Booklist, starred review), Scorched Earth is a transcendent anthology for our times.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Tiana Clark’s second poetry collection crackles with vulnerability and defiance. These poems transform heartbreak into a map toward radical self-acceptance after a period of personal upheaval. Confronting pain while insisting on pleasure, Clark writes of the body—Black, female, queer, and desirous—like it’s a wound and a wonder. She’s fearless and funny, and her range is wild. It’s a rare collection that can turn both a traditional literary form (“Broken Sestina Reaching for Black Joy”) and a reality-TV moment (“The First Black Bachelorette”) into metaphors that land like gut punches. The result is poetry that proves joy can live right next to grief, and that telling your story might be the bravest thing you can do.
