Tessa's Poetry

Author's Statement

When I wrote this collection of poems, my intention was to bring awareness to others about the terrible series of events that was slavery. I wanted to use poetry as a way to make this issue readable to those who may not think about it normally. I think I achieved my goal on what I wanted to portray with this poetry. I think the collections discussed the topic of human enslavement meaningfully, but with a relatable feel. I hope people will remember that fragile topics should still be told, even if it is harder to discuss. I hope that readers learn something while reading my poems, and even if they don’t I would like my poems to make people think, like I did when writing them. While composing this collection I used many facts from Lettuce’s life, and even if they weren’t from her life specifically, most of my poems are based on the times of slavery in America. Something that felt challenging during this poem writing was having to be sensitive and stay to what’s true. It was hard to write as a white American about the devastation of enslavement.