{"product_id":"grownfolk-blues-a-musical-in-poems-by-jae-nichelle","title":"Grownfolk Blues: a musical in poems by Jae Nichelle","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e★ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eWinner of the 2025 Joe W. Bratcher Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrownfolk Blues: a musical in poems\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a powerful cross-genre experiment by the inimitable poet, performer and screenwriter Jae Nichelle, blending narrative verse with musical theater in a dynamic score that transcends the traditional bounds of a poetry collection. Inspired by the queer Southern blues artists of the 1920s and 30s, the narrative follows a character named You, a queer Black woman who is frequently crushed beneath the weight of societal demands. You struggles against the pains of coming into adulthood, of finding love and meaning in life. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublishing a century after the peak of popularity of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and the other queer, Black artists who inspired this work,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003cem\u003eGrownfolk Blues\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003etackles the persistently relevant themes of those musical greats—balancing and thwarting trivial societal expectations, struggling to make a living, finding moments of levity in times of great pain. Playful yet deadly serious as it sings, backsteps, and levitates with the sonic power and the poignant rhythm of the blues, this collection transgresses genre. Familiar narratives around love and heartbreak are transformed by Nichelle’s deft  formal invention.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrownfolk Blues\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e contributes to an ongoing dialogue on the power of creative expression in challenging oppressive systems, providing readers with room to reflect on their own ability to resist seemingly immovable constraints. Highlighting beautifully the difficulty of what we must endure, Nichelle offers one woman’s journey toward finding love and acceptance, in dazzling librettos that dance and reach toward us across the page. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Signed pre-orders will ship by October 13th, 2026 *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHarmonious and discordant, melodious and mischievous, Jae Nichelle’s \u003cem\u003eGrownfolk Blues\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003ecarries the quintessential qualities of a successful sophomore poetry collection: the earned confidence of voice and sound, the surreal wizardry of form, the youthful willingness to play, and the beautiful and thrilling subversion of our expectations at every turn. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003em. mick powell\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eDEAD GIRL CAMEO\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen you pick up this book, know that in your hands you hold a performance waiting to bum-rush the stage in your mind. A formal wonder pulsing with all the humor and pain you want from the blues, all the drama and wit you want from a play, and all the transformative language you need from poetry. Jae Nichelle is one of the most playful and courageous poets writing today, her work filled with wonder, truth, and throbbing with real, kinetic force. This book is no static thing. It wants you to get up and groove, it wants you to give in and weep, it wants to sing you the blues and wants you to sing yours too. A phenomenal collection from the phenom herself. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eDanez Smith\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBluff: Poems \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrownfolk Blues\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a poetic melody (you) can’t help but bounce your knees to. A treble clef meditation right-justified into a lesbian blues song magic’d purple. Royal and laying there in several dimensions ready for us to behold. In what world can a black lesbian be her own narrator \u0026amp; song? In what world does she invoice the nation \u0026amp; owe herself the debt?\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrownfolk Blues\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eAnastacia-Reneé\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHere in the (Middle) of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLouisiana-born \u003cstrong\u003eJae Nichelle\u003c\/strong\u003e (she\/her) is a poet, performer, screenwriter, and the author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGod Themselves \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(Andrews McMeel, 2023) and the chapbook \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Porch (As Sanctuary) \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(YesYes Books, 2019). A 2026 Oregon Literary Fellow and a graduate fellow of The Watering Hole, Jae was a finalist for a 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship and won the inaugural John Lewis Writing Award in poetry from the Georgia Writers Association. Her work has been featured by Write About Now and Button Poetry. She believes in all of our collective ability to contribute to radical change.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e✦ Select Online Publications ✦\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦\u003cem\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theoffingmag.com\/poetry\/is-woken-up-at-6am-on-saturday-because-i-left-all-them-damn-dishes-in-the-sink\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Offing Mag\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e \"Is Woken Up At 6am on Saturday Because I ‘Left All Them Damn Dishes In \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003eThe Sink’” and “The Poem In Which We All Go Back to Where We Came From”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/thegeorgiareview.com\/posts\/grownfolk-blues-grownfolk-business-i-was-told\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Georgia Review\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“Grownfolk Blues”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.frontierpoetry.com\/2022\/11\/11\/jae-nichelle\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrontier Poetry Magazine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e \"Golden Shovel: After Lucille Clifton”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/anmly.org\/ap39\/jae-nichelle-2\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eANMLY\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“Grownfolk Talk” and “You is a child again”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-dbb236b5-7fff-540f-fdf2-68ca1e3ecfea\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e144 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eISBN 978-1-972756-00-3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLCCN 2026938836 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/asterismbooks.com\/product\/noctuary-c-rees\" title=\"Shop Asterism\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDistributor Product Page\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Host Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54023427883326,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0025\/1029\/0991\/files\/GrownfolkBlues-9781972756003.png?v=1785793863","url":"https:\/\/hostpublications.com\/products\/grownfolk-blues-a-musical-in-poems-by-jae-nichelle","provider":"Host Publications","version":"1.0","type":"link"}