A vibrant, illustrated anthology of Black poets—from Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni to Amanda Gorman and Ross Gay—celebrating nature, joy, freedom, and belonging in the natural world.
Earth Is a Living Thing is an exciting and accessible poetry anthology created especially for teen and tween readers who are curious about the natural world and how, in the Black experience, nature has been and continues to be a space of injustice.
Bringing together a dynamic range of voices from across generations, this collection features classic and contemporary Black poets, including Lucille Clifton, Frank X Walker, Zetta Elliott, Jean Toomer, Carole Boston Weatherford, and Ibi Zoboi. Each poem offers a fresh perspective on the outdoors, illuminating the ways that nature can be a place of creativity, freedom, memory, and possibility.
With vivid artwork by fine artist Leila Fanner, this is a visually striking and inviting collection for young readers and adults alike. The varied poetic styles and forms make it perfect for classroom study or independent reading. Helpful backmatter includes discussion questions and writing prompts that encourage readers to try their own hand at poetry.
Energetic, inclusive, and beautifully curated, this is an inspiring introduction to powerful voices and a reminder that poetry—and the natural world—belong to everyone.
POWERFUL LINEUP OF POETS: This multifaceted collection features poems from celebrated voices across generations, from Langston Hughes to Amanda Gorman.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Diverse in its representation of the Black experience and of poetic styles and forms, this anthology is great for classroom use. Its central theme of the natural world creates valuable interdisciplinary connections for units on literature, science, history, sociology, and geography. It also includes extensive backmatter with prompts and resources.
STUNNING ARTWORK: Empowering and celebratory, this artful collection features breathtaking paintings by Leila Fanner and will appeal to middle-grade and teen readers, as well as their parents. It makes a standout gift that will display beautifully on a bookshelf or coffee table.
Perfect for:
- Middle-grade and high school readers who love poetry
- Classrooms studying literature, environment, or creative writing
- Teachers and librarians building diverse poetry collections
- Fans of contemporary poets like Amanda Gorman and Ross Gay
- Young writers looking for inspiration
- Gift-giving for birthdays, graduation, holidays, or any celebratory occasion
Nadine Pinede is a poet and writer of the Haitian diaspora whose work moves across forms and genres. Her novel When the Mapou Sings was an Américas Award Honor Book and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, and she is also the author of Uprooted: A Journey in Poems. A graduate of Harvard University, she was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and a visiting poet at Furious Flower Poetry Center, the first academic center dedicated to Black poetry. Her fiction appears in Haiti Noir, edited by Edwidge Danticat. She has worked alongside environmental and human rights communities in Haiti and Latin America, listening for how land, history, and imagination speak to one another. Through her writing, she invites readers to notice more closely and imagine new ways of befriending the earth. Nadine lives in Belgium, on the edge of a primeval forest. Learn more and discover resources to accompany the book at nadinepinede.com.
Leila Rose Fanner is a painter and illustrator. Her work blends figurative, illustrative, and abstract styles, drawing on inspiration from nature, her daydreams, and spiritual visions. Growing up in the tiny country village of Pilgrim’s Rest, Mpumalanga, South Africa, Leila’s imagination was filled with her artist mother’s beautiful fairy stories and the wonders of the natural world as they meandered around the surrounding mountains in search of waterfalls. Leila lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Learn more at leilafannerart.com.