Diversify your reading with our Monthly Diverse Read. Join us in reading this month's carefully handpicked selection with rich cultural representation for a unique diverse reading experience.
Become a member for amazing perks, such as welcome gift, save 5% to 20% off all orders, receive monthly diverse read, and more while supporting an indie bookstore. We have 4 tiers to choose from. Learn more today!
New to Monthly Diverse Read? Keep scrolling (past this month's book blurb) to learn more about this service.
April 2025 Diverse Read: Three Leaves, Three Roots: Poems on the Haiti-Congo Story by Danielle Legros
A Haitian-born, Boston-based poet explores the personal and political stories of the Haitians who were part of Congo’s 1960s decolonization movement
Between 1960 and 1975, thousands of Haitian professionals emigrated to Congo, a fellow Black francophone nation that emerged under the revolutionary new leadership of Patrice Lumumba. As Danielle Legros Georges writes in the introduction to this collection, these émigrés sought to “escape repression in Haiti, start new lives in Africa, and participate in a decolonizing Congo.” Among them were her parents.
Grounded in these personal and social histories, Three Leaves, Three Roots is a collection of Legros Georges’s creative reconstructions of the Haiti-Congo experience. She interweaves her verses with excerpts from primary sources such as the interviews she conducted with the Congo émigrés and letters written by people both famous and obscure, including Lumumba, Fidel Castro, and members of Legros Georges’s family.
The result is a richly layered portrayal of an era of decolonization and rebuilding, a time that sparked with both promise and vulnerability for the Pan-Africanist and Black Power movements. This collection is an important work of Haitian American poetry and of Black history: it reminds us, artfully, that movements of solidarity among people of color have always existed and always will exist.
PREVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS
Danielle Legros Georges (1964-2025) was a Haitian-born professor emerita of creative writing at Lesley University. She served as poetry laureate of Boston from 2014 to 2019 and was the author and translator of several books of poetry. Her work has been supported by fellowships and grants from the American Antiquarian Society, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Boston Foundation, and the Black Metropolis Research Consortium.
LOOK AHEAD:
- May Diverse Read: Rooms for Vanishing by Stuart Nadler
- June Diverse Read: The World So Wide by Zilla Jones
Elevate your reading experience by immersing yourself in our carefully selected title of the month written by an author who identifies as Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color. If you're seeking an effortless way to explore a range of perspectives without the hassle of endless searches, Monthly Diverse Read is your solution.
Each month, join us in reading captivating and culturally diverse books. Skip the research, avoid navigating lengthy lists, and eliminate worries about problematic content – Tuma takes care of it all for you.
Is there a monthly book subscription? Become a member and receive the monthly diverse read every month + other special benefits and perks.
