Edited with a Foreword
by Aracelis Girmay



How to Carry Water:
Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton celebrates both familiar and
lesser-known works by one of America’s most beloved poets, including 10 newly
discovered poems that have never been collected. These poems
celebrating black womanhood and resilience shimmer with intellect, insight,
humor, and joy, all in Clifton’s characteristic style—a voice that the late
Toni Morrison described as “seductive with the simplicity of an atom, which is
to say highly complex, explosive underneath an apparent quietude.” Selected and
introduced by award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay, this volume of Clifton’s
poetry is simultaneously timeless and fitting for today’s tumultuous moment.