the GENDER issue / POETRY
A new nail polish line based on blackness or the black experience or lack of
by Anastacia-Reneé
almost black
not black enough
too black-black
mama’s black
daddy’s black (out of stock presently)
black at work black (comes in 3 shades)
black on the weekends black
amnesia black (with this polish you’ll have to add two extra coats)
black on holidays black
black enough to be killed & forgotten black
black underpaid artist black
black token black
black enthusiasts but not black black
black until the police come black black
black as my witness black
black god black
Anastacia-Reneé is a writer, TEDx Speaker, Deep End Podcast co-host and interdisciplinary artist. The recipient of the 2018 James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award for Washington Artist (Literary), Seattle Civic Poet (2017-2019), and Poet-in-Residence at Hugo House (2015-2017), she has received fellowships and residencies from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, VONA, Artist Trust, Jack Straw, Ragdale, Mineral School, Hypatia in the Woods and The New Orleans Writers Residency. Anastacia-Renee's work has been published in Foglifter, Cascadia Magazine, Pinwheel, The Fight and the Fiddle, Glow, The A-Line, Ms. Magazine and a host of others.