Poetryby LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs

February7, 2023 6 x 8 112 pages 978-1-56689-661-0

Part poetry collection, part soundscape, Village uses dark humor and keen observation to explore the roots of memory, grief, and estrangement.

In propulsive and formally inventive verse, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs examines how trauma reshapes lineage, language, and choice, disrupting attempts at reconciliation across generations. Questioning who is deemed worthy of public memorialization, Diggs raises new monuments, tears down classist tropes, offers detailed instructions for her own international funeral celebrations, and makes visible the hidden labors of care and place. From corners in Harlem through North Carolina back roads, Diggs complicates the concept of survivor, getting to the truth of living in the dystopia of poverty.

About the Author

A writer, vocalist and performance/sound artist, LaTasha N. NevadaDiggsis theauthor of TwERK(Belladonna, 2013).Diggshas presented and performed at California Institute of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, The Museum of Modern Art, and Walker Art Center and at festivals including: Explore the North Festival, Leeuwarden, Netherlands; Hekayeh Festival, Abu Dhabi; International Poetry Festival of Copenhagen;Ocean Space, Venice; International Poetry Festival of Romania; Question of Will, Slovakia;Poesiefestival, Berlin; and the 2015 Venice Biennale.As an independent curator, artistic director, and producer,Diggshas presented events for BAMCaf, Black Rock Coalition, El Museo del Barrio, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and the David Rubenstein Atrium.Diggshas received a 2020 George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship, a2020 C.D. Wright Award for Poetry from the Foundation of Contemporary Art, aWhiting Award (2016) and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship (2015), as well as grants and fellowships from Cave Canem, Creative Capital, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, among others.She lives in Harlem and teaches part-time at Brooklyn College and Stetson University.

Praise forVillage