Available now for preorder, (signed copies ship October 1, 2020) SLAVE CATECHISM is a new collection of poetry from Carla Christopher from Local Gems Press, Long Island, NY. Each of Black Catechism’s three segments invite the reader into an intimate and deeply affecting conversation with core pieces of the Black American experience.

The first section, “Commandments from A Mountaintop”, honors the children and young adults who have died in incidents of police brutality, their stories giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement. These contemporary episodes are laced with poems inspired by the writing of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons; words that planted seeds for much of today’s work.

The second section, “Creeds and Apostles”, explores the relationship between the Christian church and slavery, delving into the history behind multiple slave sites along the east coast including Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry, and the Harriet Tubman Byway. Little known stories from history become deeply personal when retold by Christopher in an educational and enlightening poetry experience.

The third section, “I Prayed for You”, delves into the deep passions and constant personal recreation demanded of Black Americans seeking love and relationship while also navigating personal growth and healing from genetic and generational trauma.

These are windows rarely opened to the general public, but Christopher deftly twines history and story, poetry and current events, in one of the most intimate and transformative works of creative expression to capture this time of growth, transformation, and we hope, healing.