Janice Harrington, professor of creative writing in the Department of English, has won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for her poetry collection, “Yard Show.”
The award, which is presented by the Cleveland Foundation, recognizes books that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the diversity of human cultures.
According to award committee chair Natasha Trethewey, Harrington’s poetry reclaims the image of the Midwest that “renders the African American presence invisible.”
“In the precise language and meticulous details of Harrington’s Yard Show, the aesthetics of a black woman are centered, creating a particular Eden — her wild, original, unfettered making — another way of seeing, another kind of beauty,” Trethewey said.
Editor’s note: To learn more about Yard Show, visit our faculty publications webpage. The full list of winners is available on the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards page.