The Listen & Be Heard Hour for Readers & Writers
s3e1
Kellie Richardson
The Art of Naming My Pain
The Art of Naming My Pain, 2nd Edition, features a new preface by artist and poet Kellie Richardson, as well as new artwork on the interior and exterior of the book. These new components root us in a deeper understanding, and witnessing, of Richardson’s lived experiences.
In an era of highly curated personas and unrealistic self-expectation, Richardson offers readers a stunningly honest account of her struggles with identity, relationships, mental health and self-love. The Art of Naming My Pain, 2nd Edition, collects Richardson’s poetry, essays and art as she navigates what it is for a Black, queer, broken women to seek joy in a world that says she doesn’t deserve it.
This book is an unfolding of her journey, bearing witness to the possibility of life after self-loathing. Richardson’s voice is refreshingly candid in this sophomore collection, shedding light on issues we all face, though few have the courage to own in the public sphere.
“These pages, which offer sinew and pedagogy in the midst of visual art, prose and verse, make The Art of Naming My Pain both a vulnerable and fearless multi-genre collection. Richardson’s art, experience, activism and care pierces from the page into the heart and consciousness of her readers. Her essays drip in the rawness and scholar of Lorde and Hemphill…” – avery r. young, author of neckbone: visual verses
Publisher: Blue Cactus Press
