Adroit Journal Features Artwork by Mitchell L. H. Douglas

The new issue of The Adroit Journal features two collages by Mitchell L. H Douglas, the first published artwork by the poet.

Inspired by his daughter (a multi-disciplinary artist) during the height of the pandemic, Douglas used days of isolation to find his way back to the visual art he put aside years ago to focus on poetry. The collages blend the poet’s love of comic books with representations of Black life in urban and rural settings.

Follow the link to see Douglas’s contribution in issue forty-three: https://theadroitjournal.org/issue-forty-three/mitchell-l-h-douglas

Mitchell L. H. Douglas Wins $25K NEA Fellowship

On Thursday, Feb. 5, the National Endowment for the Arts announced its Fiscal Year 2021 Creative Writing Fellowship recipients. Mitchell L. H. Douglas was one of 35 writers from across the nation selected to receive the $25,000 grant. The award helps writers “set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.”

See the full list of recipients and learn more about the award here:

https://www.arts.gov/about/news/2021/national-endowment-arts-supports-arts-over-275-million-awards-first-round-fy2021-funding

Douglas Black Lives Matter essay goes live on Salon.com

A new essay by Mitchell L. H. Douglas is live on Salon.com. “In the name of the movement: Black Lives Matter Plaza, Breonna Taylor, and the long road to justice,” features Douglas’s photos and his account of a visit to the nation’s capital after protests for victims of police violence. Douglas reveals Breonna Taylor—who’s family has yet to see justice after her killing by Louisville police—was in the hearts and minds of protesters outside the White House. The essay, Douglas’s first published creative non-fiction piece, can be found at https://www.salon.com/2020/06/27/in-the-name-of-the-movement-black-lives-matter-plaza-breonna-taylor-and-the-long-road-to-justice/

photo by Mitchell L. H. Douglas

photo by Mitchell L. H. Douglas

Bourbon & Poetry Festival features the Affrilachian Poets and special guests

The first Bourbon & Poetry Festival features Affrilachian Poets Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Asha French, Stephanie Pruitt, Bianca L. Spriggs, and Frank X Walker and special guests Nandi Comer, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Shauna Morgan, and  Bro. Yao (Hoke S. Glover III). Join the celebration live at 7 p.m. EST, Monday June 1 on the Affrilachian Poets Facebook page.

Latest issue of Quarterly West features three new poems by Mitchell L. H. Douglas

The [Salvage/Selvage] issue of online literary journal Quarterly West went live on August 12 with three new poems by Mitchell L. H. Douglas. The poems, Douglas’s first since the publication of dying in the scarecrow’s arms in 2018, offer surprising allusions to beloved literary figures, adopt persona to magnify loss, and find a sobering perspective on the pursuit of fame and fortune. You can find the new issue at https://www.quarterlywest.com/salvage-selvage/douglas

U. S. Poet Laureate reviews dying in the scarecrow's arms in O Magazine

Mitchell L. H. Douglas' dying in the scarecrow's arms is among six recent books of poems that “deliver truth with originality and grace” according to U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Smith recognizes Douglas’ work in the April 2018 issue of O: The Oprah Magazine. Author of the forthcoming poetry collection Wade in the Water, Smith won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for her third book, Life on Mars.

Douglas' dying in the scarecrow's arms is the first book discussed in the feature that celebrates National Poetry Month. Smith notes that the book-opening "Loosies," an elegy for Eric Garner, contains "a sense of violence and vulnerability that touches everything after." In the midst of these poems of survival, Smith says the book's five-part love poem "Persist" is "restorative" and succeeds in "turning even the routine into a daily astonishment."

In addition to Douglas, Smith reviews poetry collections by 2017 National Book Award nominees Shane McCrae (In the Language of My Captor) and Danez Smith (Don't Call Us Dead), Eve L. Ewing (Electric Arches), Khadijah Queen (I'm So Fine), and Nicole Sealey (Ordinary Beast). 

The April 2018 issue of O is available at newsstands now.