Hello dear friends, 

Happy Black History Month! I am really excited to share this roundup of Black artists and writers and thinkers with you today. I hope you get to spend some quality time with their work. It's a gift. 

Sending you love this chilly February day.

 
xo,

Carissa

I recently read this excerpt from Kiese Laymon's book Heavy and now I'm racing to read the whole memoir. 

Super excited about this essay series edited by Roxane Gay. 

One of my favorite interviews I've ever done (I was so nervous). Jericho Brown is a personal hero of mine. 

Danez Smith gives me a new way to think about my home state.

I recommend Alex Elle's How We Heal to everyone I know. I'll never forget the day we cried together after processing a tragedy of gun violence.

You are not hard to love. Oh Happy Dani always cheers me up. 

The Cookout Library is awesome. 

George McCalman's book is an absolute must. Its pages are filled with illustrated portraits of Black heroes.

Ashley Ford swims in the ocean. 

I never miss Prentis Hemphill's podcast Finding Our Way. 

James Baldwin's A Letter To My Nephew is as relevant as ever. 

Donika Kelly strikes at her deepest traumas in this incredible poetry collection. It haunted me for a long time after I read it.