Every Hard Sweetness

In Every Hard Sweetness, Carter-Jones chronicles Civil Rights’ era atrocities through the story of her family’s experience with an all-too-common practice in which Black men were wrongfully incarcerated in institutions for the criminally insane. The result is a stunning work reflecting on race, criminalization, and the devastating consequences of a Black father’s incarceration on his psyche and family, specifically his Black daughter. Told through a mixture of photography, ekphrasis, and erasure, Carter-Jones’ powerful collection creates an extraordinary record of her family’s life at a time of great suffering and upheaval.

Praise for Every Hard Sweetness

“Every time I read this brilliant book some new mastery unfolds. Sheila Carter-Jones is simply a badass poet.” —Terrance Hayes, author of Lighthead

“This book is unforgettable in its bravery, its truth-telling, its tragedy, its strength.” —Jan Beatty, author of The Body Wars

“Every Hard Sweetness is an extraordinary work of history and possibility. Within the brutal conditions of every state-sanctioned terror against her family, the poet makes a brilliant record of a deeply disciplined, steadfast tenderness...” —Aracelis Girmay, author of the black maria

“Carter-Jones powerfully wields various forms, including photographs, to recover the past, resulting in a work that is a moving testament to the 'art of staying alive.'” —Shara McCallum, author of No Ruined Stone

“With the authoritative and unflinching voice of an emotional historian, these poems document and expose the racism and bigotry that still haunt America, through the personal as well as public lens. And yet, for all the hard moments of this story, there is also a kind of sweetness in the way that the poet renders tender family moments, honors victims of injustice, commands herself in the world, rises above it, and holds on to hope.” —Richard Blanco, Presidential Inaugural Poet

“This extraordinary and important book illustrates the ways in which anti-Black violence can be brutally whitewashed under the guise of institutional and bureaucratic complicity. At the same time, Every Hard Sweetness insists on celebrating Black courage, Black resilience, and Black joy in poems that are riveting, heartbreaking, and gorgeous.” —Lee Ann Roripaugh, author of Tsunami vs. the Fukushima 50