The Tradition (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
Full disclosure: I don't read a lot of poetry. Still, I have developed a major crush on Jericho Brown. This particular collection was a finalist for a National Book Award in 2019 and is an exploration of social injustice as well as personal intimacy. Far from becoming sappy or morose, Brown's words exude an upbeat attitude. Despite everything, Jericho Brown is just fine.
— From Kerry M.'s Picks
The Tradition explores cultural threats on black bodies, resistance, and the interplay of desire and privilege in a dangerous era.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for The Tradition, Jericho Brown earned his PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston. He is the recipient of the Whiting Writers Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Krakow Poetry Seminar in Poland. His first book, Please (New Issues), won the American Book Award. His second book, The New Testament, won won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was named one of the best of the year by Library Journal. Brown is the director of the Creative Writing Program at Emory University and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.