Black Bone

Black Bone: 25 Years of the Affrilachian Poets is a beautiful collection of both old and new work.

~USA Today

The Affrilachian Poets continue to be a groundbreaking literary force.... In celebration of their decades-long collaboration, the group has published its first anthology, Black Bone.

~Detroit Free Press

Black Bone is a testament to the work of this trailblazing group which has created a poetic revolution by demanding recognition and promoting racial justice through dynamic and impact writing.

~Mid-South Tribune

Regardless of your race, color, or creed, Black Bone will enrich your appreciation of poetry and the almost defunct art of essay writing. [It] opens up a world of gifted, unpredictable, illusive mind-snatching poets. I love this work, and it will remain a collection I shall return to time and time.

~The Mid-South Tribune

Spriggs and Paden serve as apt coeditors of Black Bone: 25 Years of the Affrilachian Poets, due not only to their affiliation with the group, but also because of their commitment to celebrating the power of words through their respective academic fields in English and Spanish/Latin American literature. [They] highlight the evolving nature of the poets' work in the region and beyond. The poems stake a claim to land, culture, and people, while exhibiting lived social binaries like the beautiful and the ugly, the courageous and the fearful.

~Journal of Appalachian Studies

After years of growth, honors, and accomplishments, the group is acknowledging its silver anniversary. The book is a beautiful collection of both new and classic work and features submissions from Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney, Gerald Coleman, Crystal Wilkinson, Kelly Norman Ellis, and many others. The illuminating and powerful collection is a testament to this groundbreaking group.

~Kentucky Alumni