Claudia Rankine, photo by John Lucas
Claudia Rankine reads in connection withWilliam Pope.L: Trinket. In her latest poetry volume,Citizen: An American Lyric, Rankine investigates racial microaggressions in American media and daily life.The New Yorkerpraises the book as “a weave of artfully juxtaposed intensities, a quarrel within form about form,” and vital in the era of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Pope.L himself calls it a “courageous, tough, bighearted giant of a little book.”Citizenis a National Book Award Finalist for Poetry, and the first book ever nominated in two categories for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
A writer whose work blurs the boundaries of poetry, essays, and images, Rankine was born in Kingston, Jamaica, educated at Williams College and Columbia University, and now teaches at Pomona College. In addition toCitizen, her poetry collections includeDon't Let Me Be Lonely(2004),Plot(2001),The End of the Alphabet(1998) andNothing in Nature is Private(1994). She is also a playwright whose works includeThe Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx TravelogueandExisting Conditions.