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by M. Nourbese Philip (Author), Katherine McKittrick (Introduction by)
Brilliant, lyrical, and passionate, this collection from the acclaimed poet m. nourbeSe philip is an extended jazz riff running along the themes of language, racism, colonialism, and exile.
In this groundbreaking collection, philip defiantly challenges and resoundingly overthrows the silencing of black women through appropriation of language, offering no less than superb poetry resonant with beauty and strength. She Tries Her Tongue; Her Silence Softly Breaks was originally published in 1989 and won the Casa de Las Americas Prize. This new edition includes an introduction by Katherine McKittrick.Author Biography
m. nourbeSe philip is a renowned poet, essayist, and playwright, and practiced law for seven years before becoming a writer. She received the 2020 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, as well as the 2021 Molson Prize, the Canada Council for the Arts' lifetime achievement award, for her "invaluable contributions to literature." Born in Tobago, she lives in Toronto.
Katherine McKittrick is Professor of Gender Studies and Canada Research Chair in Black Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. She authored Dear Science and Other Stories (DUP, 2021), and Demonic Grounds: Black Women and the Cartographies of Struggle (UMP, 2006). She also edited and contributed to Sylvia Wynter: On Being Human as Praxis (DUP, 2015) and Heartbreak and Other Geographies (UMP, 2026). Recent collaborative projects include the limited-edition boxset Trick Not Telos (2023), the limited-edition hand-made book Twenty Dreams (2024), and the installation honouring nourbeSe philip A Smile Split by the Stars (2025).
