Commitments: A Revisit of Essex Hemphill

Aaron and James revisit an iconic poem about queer duty and erasure by Essex Hemphill.

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SHOW NOTES

Read Hemphill's biographical sketch on the Poetry Foundation.

We reference Hemphill's canonical poem, which you can read: "American Wedding" (listen to Justin Smith read the poem here).

Hemphill's Ceremonies was published by Cleis Press in 1992.

Hit the 1:04 mark on this clip to hear Hemphill read a poem as part of Tongues Untied. 

Hemphill took part in a panel during the Black Nations/Queer Nations Conference in the early 90s alongside Samuel R. Delaney and Coco Fusco. His talk is about HIV, Blackness, and queerness.