Witness: Poems to Address the Past, Present, and Future of Policing

A potent YA poetry anthology that explores policing and public safety while honoring the past, recognizing our present, and making space for dreams of the future.

This wide-ranging collection springs from a simple invitation to share stories. It includes contributions from nearly forty poets, including Ada Limón, Jason Reynolds, Erin Entrada Kelly, Danez Smith, and Amanda Gorman. The multifaceted chorus of voices explores experiences and emotions related to policing and over-policing by various law enforcement officers and agencies, touching on everything from the slave trade to an ICE agent killing Renee Good in early 2026. Evocative pieces of artwork by Damon Davis are interspersed, adding additional layers of meaning.

In this deeply moving collection, anthologists and poets Ari Tison and Ty Chapman give readers an opportunity to reflect, to discuss, and above all, to witness.

The complete list of poets includes:

Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams

D. R. Bernstrom

Fong Li Blessing

Ty Chapman

Kinsale Drake

Margarita Engle

Amanda Gorman

Ronald Greer

Nikki Grimes

Carolyn Holbrook

Kari Anne Holt

Douglas Kearney

Tae Keller

Erin Entrada Kelly

Halee Kirkwood

Michael Kleber-Diggs

Ada Limón

Mariama J. Lockington

W. J. Lofton

Kyle Carrero Lopez

Kekla Magoon

Kyle Tran Myhre

Alice Paige

Junauda Petrus

Bao Phi

Jason Reynolds

Karuna Riazi

Laura Ruby

Aida Salazar

Hannah V. Sawyerr

Ollie Schminkey

Taiwana Shambley

Sun Yung Shin

Danez Smith

Ari Tison

Padma Venkatraman

Jasmine Warga

Kao Kalia Yang

Ari Tison is a Bribri poet and author based in Minnesota. Her YA hybrid poetry & prose novel Saints of the Household (2023) won multiple awards including the 2024 Walter Dean Myers Award and the 2024 Pura Belpré Award; it was also a finalist for the William C. Morris Award. Ari was chosen as a 2023 Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Her poems and short works have been published in numerous national magazines.

Ty Chapman is an award-winning author and poet based in Minnesota. He is the author of many children's books and the poetry collection, Tartarus. Additionally, he co-edited the poetry anthology, Witness, with his friend and collaborator, Ari Tison. He has published poems through The Academy of American Poets, Water~Stone, and more.

Ty has received fellowships from The McKnight Foundation, Cave Canem, The Center for Arts + Social Justice, and The Loft Literary Center. He holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults through Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Damon Davis is an award-winning post-disciplinary artist who works and resides in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film, and public art.