which commissions new work from leading writers in conversation with the crisis of mass incarceration
in the United States, with the goal of creating new awareness and empathy through presentation and publication.
Preorder the book
Like A Hammer is an anthology of poems that unearths the shared traumas produced by America’s incarceration system.
These powerful poems of witness seek to address the oppressive systems that make up the US prison-industrial complex, revealing cracks in a criminal punishment system that too often appears unchangeable. The impacts of that system reverberate through lives and across generations. The poets gathered here aim to foreground the real experiences of people touched by the system, to upend dominant narratives, shine light on injustice, and act as a fulcrum around which to organize communities in support of change.
Like A Hammer explores how art and imagination can serve as vehicles for endurance, offering us the hope to envision a better future.
Edited by Diana Marie Delgado, a poet and advocate for social justice, the Poetry Center couldn't be more thrilled to celebrate this timely and powerful anthology.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(stay tuned for forthcoming events in Chicago and New York!)
AWP 2025 | Friday, March 28, 1:45-3:00PM in Petree Hall D
like a hammer book launch
The University of Arizona Poetry Center’s event “Like a Hammer: Poets on Mass Incarceration Book Launch,” featuring Angel Nafis, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, and Diana Marie Delgado, is coming to #AWP25 in Los Angeles, California.
More details coming soon!
Thursday, March 20, 2025 - 7:00pm
like a hammer book launch @ the Poetry Center
Join us for a reading and book launch of Like a Hammer: Poets on Mass Incarceration, just out from Haymarket Books and edited by Diana Marie Delgado. Like A Hammer is an anthology of poems that unearths the shared traumas produced by America’s incarceration system. Sin à Tes Souhaits, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal will read from the anthology.
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About the anthology editor: Diana Marie Delgado is a poet and advocate for social justice whose work delves into community, resilience, and the lived experiences of marginalized voices. She has partnered with prominent organizations such as the Clinton Foundation, Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, the University of Arizona Poetry Center, and Hugo House, driving initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices in the arts.
Contributors to Like a Hammer include: Hanif Abdurraqib, Rhionna Anderson, Brian Batchelor, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Marina Bueno, Cody Bruce, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Natalie Diaz, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Pat Ewok, Nikky Finney, Kennedy A. Gisege, Gustavo Guerra, Jessica Hill, Vicki Hicks, Randall Horton, Sandra Jackson, Catherine LaFleur, Ada Limón, Sarah Lynn Maatsch, Christopher Malec, Eduardo Martinez, John Murillo, Angel Nafis, Kenneth Nadeau, Leeann Parker, James Pearl, Christina Pernini, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, Patrick Rosal, Nicole Sealey, Evie Shockley, Patricia Smith, Sin á Tes Souhaits, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Candace Williams, and SHE>i