For example, in her essay 'On Faith', Honorée Fanonne Jeffers taught her 'to remember those who came before'. Each poet that she spotlights serves as the connective tissue of each theme. She interviewed 10 poets in total, who come from the era that bridges between the Black Arts movement and the Cave Canem era, that Bingham-Risher came of age in. In each essay, Bingham-Risher writes about a theme and centers one Black poet that mentored her at different times in her life. Bingham-Risher defines 'Soul Culture' as the “ nuanced living of Black Americans and…contemporary Black poets”. The book is a collection of essays that are all touching, inspiring, and heartfelt. In Soul Culture, Remica Bingham-Risher has written a beautiful book about Black community, mentorship, growth, and revision. My interview with the author of Soul Culture here. If you've ever felt alone on your journey into the writing world, the words of these poets are for you.

By capturing the radical love ethic of Blackness amid incessant fear, she has amassed not only a wealth of knowledge about contemporary Black poetry and poetry movements but also brings to life the historical record of Black poetry from the latter half of the 20th century to the early decades of the 21st.Įxamining cultural traditions, myths, and music from the Four Tops to Beyonc�, Bingham-Risher reflects on the enduring gifts of art and community. Noting the frustrating tendency for Black artists to be pigeonholed into the confines of various frameworks and ideologies-Black studies, women's studies, LGBTQIA+ studies, and so on-Bingham-Risher reveals the multitudes contained within Black poets, both past and present. Each essay also delves into how her own life and work are influenced by these elders.

Each essay is thematically inspired, centered on one of her interviews, and uses quotes drawn from her talks to showcase their philosophies. Examines firsthand the lives of legendary Black writers who made a way out of no way to illuminate a road map for budding creators desiring to follow in their footstepsĪcclaimed Cave Canem poet and essayist Remica Bingham-Risher interweaves personal essays and interviews she conducted over a decade with 10 distinguished Black poets, such as Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez, and Patricia Smith, to explore the impact of identity, joy, love, and history on the artistic process.

Soul culture remica