
Today we speak with Saeed Jones – award-winning author of the new poetry collection Alive at the End of the World. Our conversation covers the art of embracing chaos and finding humor, and how Saeed considers his poems in relation to the reading and the performance of poetry. Saeed also explains why he thinks of all his poems as traps.
The Stacks Book Club selection for September is The Trees by Percival Everett. We will discuss the book on September 28th with Lisa Lucas.
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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

- Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
- Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones
- How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
- “Ep. 228 Grief is Love with Marisa Renee Lee” (The Stacks)
- Paul Mooney
- Aretha Franklin
- Little Richard
- Luther Vandross
- Shine Bright by Danyel Smith
- White Negroes by Lauren Michele Jackson
- “Ep. 221 White Negroes by Lauren Michele Jackson — The Stacks Book Club (David Dennis Jr.)” (The Stacks)
- “Ep. 198 We’ll Be Okay with Jason Reynolds” (The Stacks)
- Black Girl Song Book (The Ringer)
- “Natalie Cole, More Than ‘This Will Be'” (Black Girl Song Book, The Ringer)
- “This Will Be” (Natalie Cole, 1975)
- Vibe Check (Stitcher)
- Sam Sanders
- Zach Stafford
- Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones (audiobook)
- Ketanji Brown Jackson
- Whitney Houston
- Frank B. Wilderson III
- Alexander Chee
- “Ep. 230 How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee — The Stacks Book Club (Ingrid Rojas Contreras)” (The Stacks)
- Finna by Nate Marshall
- Luther by Craig Seymour
- The Reckonings by Lacy M. Johnson
- Robin Crawford
- Lola Flash
- ACT UP
- D. A. Powell
- George Foreman Grill
- Throat Coat Tea
- “Ep. 193 Betting on the Kids with Angelina Jolie and Tokata Iron Eye” (The Stacks)
- “Ep. 172 The Art vs. The Artist with Quentin Tarantino” (The Stacks)
- AM to DM (Buzzfeed)
- Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
- How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
- Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson III
- “Ep. 209 A Poem is About Wonder with Nate Marshall” (The Stacks)
- Ingrid Rojas Contreras
- Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY)
- Kiese Laymon
- How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon
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