For this National Poetry Month my conversation with poet Jamaica Baldwin explores the themes in her debut full length poetry collection "Bone Language", including race, politics, familial heritage, and womanhood, and why she has been described as a poet of power. Baldwin also talks about the experiences that have shaped her life and, as well as discussing her writing, Baldwin reads some of her poems.

Jamaica Baldwin is a poet and educator originally from Santa Cruz, CA. Her first book, Bone Language, will be published by YesYes Books in the Summer of 2023. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and among her many accolades are a 2023 Pushcart Prize and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Baldwin has served as a community based teaching artist, including a generative writing workshop for women in Guatemala. Baldwin is currently the associate editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln where she is pursuing her PhD in English with a focus on poetry and Women's and Gender Studies.