The Country in the Mirror: Poems of Protest & Witness

Edited by Sharon Darrow and including nearly ninety poets from across the United States and Canada, The Country in the Mirror: Poems of Protest & Witness is an urgent anthology of poems written in response to the troubles of our times. It is comprised of a variety of voices, from new writers to well-seasoned poets who are widely published and celebrated, such as Martín Espada, Nikki Grimes, Rachel Hadas, Gregory Maguire, Bianca Stone, among others, writing about a myriad of issues related to immigration, detention, loss of voice, civil rights, climate change, rising fascism, global wars, genocide, abortion, LGBTQIA+ experiences and more.

The Country in the Mirror holds a mirror to our diversity, our freedom of expression, and our collective humanity to remind us of the liberties we have as Americans, and to caution of their loss.

Sharon Darrow, a member of the writing faculty of VCFA for over twenty years, is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She was born in Oklahoma, raised in Texas, lived much of her adult life in the Chicago area, and now lives in Vermont.

Martín Espada's latest book of poems is called "Jailbreak of Sparrows." His previous book of poems, "Floaters," won the National Book Award. He has received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award, a Letras Boricuas Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

New York Times bestseller Nikki Grimes received the ALAN Award for teen literature, Children's Literature Legacy Medal, NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, and the Coretta Scott King Award. A Black Authors Hall of Fame Inductee, her titles include "Bronx Masquerade," "Garvey's Choice," and "Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir."