Sisters of the Desert Sun Ignited by "The Fire This This Time: A New Generation Speaks on Race" by Jesmyn Ward

My sister says that I talk too loud when I get excited.  I call it passionate discourse, and that was the volume our discussion was set to while Sisters of the Desert Sun sat for brunch at The Vig to discuss The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks on Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward.

My eggs ran cold as I read excerpts from this anthology.  My heart pounded and beads of sweat gathered on my brow as I found myself laying at the foot of every page, either breathless or ready to scream and shout.  I was folded into each word of Clint Smith's poem Queries of Unrest, and felt as if my voice as a mother of two sons was heard by Claudine Rankin and understood by Emily Raboteau.  This was, by far, my favorite selection in 2016.

A fierce anthology comprised of poetry and prose from some of the best writers of this generation, The Fire This Time ignites the spirit of resistance and strength in its readers as it articulates so eloquently the pain, fear and frustration with which so many of us have lived.  It is not easy to impress upon people the depth and breadth of the challenging experiences of people of color; however, The Fire This Time does just that.  This work provides a platform to share not only the hurt and despair, but the vision, hope and resilience of us all.   

The circulation of video footage, on social media, of shootings of unarmed people and excessive force is quite like a modern day version of public executions, which perpetuates fear and terrorizes communities.  We internalize the pain, reliving it again and again as we scroll through our Facebook feeds.  In late September, I posted the following words after Tulsa, Charleston, San Diego, Baton Rouge, Minnesota:  "We know what it is to hold and hug our sons hard as they leave the house to hang out with friends. We know what it is to pray with the utmost sincerity that our sons return to us unharmed. We know why we cry for every victim and their families as if our own. We know why we're tired and so do they."  I felt that we needed a voice to stand up to this terror, to rally our strength, to show us the way to turn anger into action.  That was the day I chose The Fire This Time for our October selection.

-Karen Rowe Gilliland