Current Groups

Discussion Group 154: February 6 – 14, 2025

Aiden Hunt: Mining the African-American Archive

Description- While archival poetry is not new, African-American poets continue to dig into the historical and familial record to create powerful collections that speak with authority about America’s racist past and how it colors our present. Alison C. Rollins’ Black Bell incorporates documents and images from American slavery’s insinuation into daily life to show the banal and, at times, ridiculous nature of the horrible institution. Sheila Carter-Jones’ Every Hard Sweetness draws on the experience and documentary evidence of her father—a victim of the Jim Crow practice of wrongly incarcerating “difficult” Black men in mental institutions. In this group, we’ll read and discuss a few poems from each of these recently published poetry collections.

Aiden Huntis a disabled writer, editor, poet and critic based in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs. Previously a freelance policy journalist and activist, he now focuses mainly on literary criticism. He is the creator and editor of the Philly Poetry Chapbook Review, an online literary journal dedicated to featuring poetry chapbooks through excerpts, reviews, and author features. Find out more at: PAidenHunt.com.