The Trayvon Generation

Poet and memoirist Alexander (The Light of the World) narrates her own work, expanding on a piece that she wrote for The New Yorker during the tumultuous summer of 2020. That June, the United States witnessed the death of a Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer, an incident that became a tipping point of racial injustice. This work, which interweaves prose, poetry, and art, is a lyrical response to the centuries-long violence meted out to Black Americans. Alexander discusses the expansive and lasting aftereffects of witnessing targeted, racially motivated violence and what that means for the generations growing up amidst this shadow of chaos and tension. Alexander’s powerful book proves that poetry is the ultimate vehicle for exploring this truly painful subject. Hearing the poet’s words read in her own voice, full of sorrow and anger, makes for an incredible listening experience.