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June 2025 Poem-a-Day Guest Editor Omotara James
June 2025 Poem-a-Day Guest Editor Omotara James
Listen to a short Q&A where Omotara James discusses her curatorial process for Poem-a-Day.
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May 2025
May 2025
Omotara James vs. The Speaker
Omotara James vs. The Speaker
On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany are joined by poet Omotara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet-cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader.
Announcing the 2025 Guest Editors for Poem-a-Day, the Academy of American Poets’ Online Series Premiering Original Poems
Announcing the 2025 Guest Editors for Poem-a-Day, the Academy of American Poets’ Online Series Premiering Original Poems
New York, NY (December 19, 2024)—Reading a poem daily is a sm
Omotara James on “Rufus, I never met you, but I want to tell you”
Omotara James on “Rufus, I never met you, but I want to tell you”
Poets and translators on their work.
The Glimpse, Episode 8: This Is a F*** You Poem with Omotara James
The Glimpse, Episode 8: This Is a F*** You Poem with Omotara James
Poet Omotara James digs into the language of pleasure and cruelty, everyday apocalypses, and more with host Camille Rankine. Omotara also reads “After the Last Calorie of the Apocalypse / Prayer for the Clinically Obese" and Mark Doty’s “Tiara.”
Poet of the Week — Brooklyn Poets
Poet of the Week — Brooklyn Poets
“Kiese Says, Black People Deserve Beautiful Sentences, but a Fragment is the Best I Can Do / Songbook for the Names I Have Been Called,” a Poem by Omotara James
“Kiese Says, Black People Deserve Beautiful Sentences, but a Fragment is the Best I Can Do / Songbook for the Names I Have Been Called,” a Poem by Omotara James
Kiese Says, Black People Deserve Beautiful Sentences, but a Fragment is the Best I Can Do / Songbook for the Names I Have Been Called I might be The most beautiful Black bitch you’ve ever seen The …
Song of My Softening by Omotara James
Song of My Softening by Omotara James
The insightful debut by James explores the body and identity with bracing honesty and directness. Fatness and its accompanying s...
Washington Post: Book Club Picks
Washington Post: Book Club Picks
Omotara James with Ricky Tucker
Omotara James with Ricky Tucker
Songs of My Softening, a new collection by poet Omotara James, is a clear pronunciation of the pristine spaces in which you are seen. Equal parts hurt and joy, in her poems’ many iterations, the throughline is that they are unwavering in their truths, a feat when Omatara’s life experience is so specific—her talent, her race, her gender, her sexuality, her size—she is speaking of you. You are complicit in every direction—every entry an ear and a prayer.
Omotara James releases her debut poetry collection: 'Song of My Softening'
Omotara James releases her debut poetry collection: 'Song of My Softening'
Ten Questions with Poets & Writers
Ten Questions with Poets & Writers
“Your instinct to wait to publish is right. You only get one debut.” —Omotara James, author of Song of My Softening
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