Poetry of Migration

In 2017, approximately 3.4% of the world’s population, or 257.7 million people, were migrants, which the United Nations defines as “any person who changes his or her country of usual residence.” Folded up within this simple statement are multiplicities of experience: stories of individuals, families, generations, and communities, stories of opportunity, violence, grief, and hope. Many recent award-winning books of poetry have unfolded some of these stories of migration, and through the month of September, a pop-up exhibit at the Poetry Center library showcases a small sampling of this work. We invite you to explore this selection of books by visiting the library. For more poetry about migration online, we recommend this gathering of resources by the Academy of American Poets.

Books featured in the Poetry of Migration Pop-Up Exhibit:

Afterland by Mai Der Vang (Graywolf Press, 2017)

The Black Maria by Aracelis Girmay (BOA Editions, 2016)

Driving Without a License by Janine Joseph (Alice James Books, 2016)

Everything Here by Lena Bezawork Grönlund (Akashic Books, 2017)

Hijra by Hala Alyan (Crab Orchard Review/Southern Illinois University Press, 2016)

Hour of the Ox by Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016)

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon Press, 2016)

Lessons on Expulsion by Erika L. Sánchez (Graywolf Press, 2017)

Sabbatical by Famia Nkansa (Akashic Books, 2017)

Slow Lightning by Eduardo C. Corral (Yale University Press, 2012)

Sugah. Lump. Prayer. by Momtaza Mehri (Akashic Books, 2017)

Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora (Copper Canyon Press, 2017)

American Odysseys: Writings by New Americans, from the Vilcek Foundation (Dalkey Archive, 2013)

Others Will Enter the Gates: Immigrant Poets on Poetry, Influences, and Writing in America, edited by Abayomi Animashaun (Black Lawrence Press, 2015)