Biography

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Virginia State University, Virginia, United States
Dr. Latorial Faison is an award-winning African American poet, author, professor, veteran military spouse, and mother born in Southampton County, VA. She’s authored & edited 16 books, including Nursery Rhymes in Black, Blood at the Root, Mother to Son, Love Poems, 28 Days of Poetry Celebrating Black History, I-III & The Missed Education of the Negro. Faison completed undergraduate & graduate studies in English at UVA and VA TECH; she completed doctoral studies in Education at VA State University. Faison's been published in Callaloo, Obsidian, PRAIRIE SCHOONER, Artemis Journal, West Trestle Review, RHINO, Southern Poetry Anthology, About Place Journal, Southern Women's Review, Deep South Magazine, Chickenbones, AUNT CHLOE, and elsewhere. Dr. Faison is a recipient of fellowships from VA Humanities, Furious Flower Poetry Center, and AWP. She's won the Tom Howard Poetry Prize and ranked finalist for CAVE CANEM and Louise Bogan Poetry Prizes. Faison's been published alongside Iyanla Vanzant, Danny Glover & Dr. Cornel West in the NAACP Image Award-winner, Keeping the Faith. She's Assistant Professor of English and Chair of Languages and Literature at VA State University.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Daddy's English



A man of few words 
famous for calling women 
their husbands' names or nicknames 
Mrs. Cat or Mrs. Charlie

He'd call you cracker jack  
if you couldn’t be still
shot for trying to be somebody you were not
pistol if he thought you were mean as shit 

He might even call you TharlJespa, or Ettie
girl-child if you were a boy 
primping in a mirror too long


Copyrighted Feb. 2014 Latorial Faison


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This takes my heart home! Thanks!!!