The Tradition (poetry collection) explained

The Tradition
Author:	Jericho Brown
Audio Read By:	JD Jackson
Cover Artist:	Lauren Ralphi Burgess
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Genre:	Poetry
Publisher:	Copper Canyon Press
Pub Date:	April 2, 2019
Media Type:	Print (paperback and hardcover), e-book
Pages:	110 (paperback)
Awards:	Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (2020)
Isbn:	978-1-55659-486-1
Isbn Note:	(paperback)
Oclc:	1113894902
Dewey:	811/.6
Congress:	PS3602.R699 A6 2019
Preceded By:	The New Testament

The Tradition is a 2019 poetry collection by American poet Jericho Brown.^[1]

The collection won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.^[2] Judges of the prize called the book "a collection of masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence."^[3]

Contents

I

• "Ganymede"
• "As a Human Being"
• "Flower"
• "The Microscopes"
• "The Tradition"
• "Hero"
• "After Another Country"
• "The Water Lilies"
• "Foreday in the Morning"
• "The Card Tables"
• "Bullet Points"
• "Duplex"
• "The Trees"
• "Second Language"
• "After Avery R. Young"
• "A Young Man"

II

• "Duplex"
• "Riddle"
• "Good White People"
• "Correspondence"
• "Trojan"
• "The Legend of Big and Fine"
• "The Peaches"
• "Night Shift"
• "Shovel"
• "The Long Way"
• "Dear Whiteness"
• "Of the Swan"
• "Entertainment Industry"
• "Stake"
• "Layover"

III

• "Duplex"
• "Of My Fury"
• "After Essex Hemphill"
• "Stay"
• "A.D."
• "Turn You Over"
• "The Virus"
• "The Rabbits"
• "Monotheism"
• "Token"
• "The Hammers"
• "I Know What I Love"
• "Crossing"
• "Deliverance"
• "Meditations at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park"
• "Dark"
• "Duplex"
• "Thighs and Ass"
• "Cakewalk"
• "Stand"
• "Duplex: Cento"

Reception

At the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the collection received a cumulative "Rave" rating based on 18 reviews: 12 "Rave" reviews, 5 "Positive" reviews, and 1 "Mixed" review.^[4]

Publishers Weekly called it "searing" and wrote that Jericho's duplex form "yields compelling results".^[5]

Elizabeth Lund of The Washington Post called it "compelling and forceful because it wonderfully balances the dark demands of memory and an indomitable strength."^[6]

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Result
2019	National Book Award	Poetry		^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
2019	National Book Critics Circle Award	Poetry		^[10]
2020	Lambda Literary Award	Gay Poetry		^[11]
2020	Pulitzer Prize	Poetry		^[12]

Publication history

• Book: The Tradition . . 978-1-55659-486-1 . paperback . April 2, 2019 . 110pp.
• Book: The Tradition . . 978-1-55659-602-5 . hardcover . February 4, 2020 . 96pp.

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Tradition by Jericho Brown . . May 13, 2020.
2. Web site: 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners. www.pulitzer.org.
3. Web site: Moser, Whitehead, McDaniel, Grandin, Boyer, Brown Win 2020 Pulitzers . Maher . John . May 4, 2020 . . May 13, 2020.
4. Web site: Book Marks reviews of The Tradition by Jericho Brown . . . May 13, 2020.
5. Web site: Poetry Book Review: The Tradition by Jericho Brown . April 15, 2019 . . May 13, 2020.
6. News: Listen up: Four poets have something to say about race, gender and violence . Lund . Elizabeth . April 8, 2019 . . May 13, 2020.
7. Web site: September 2019 . 2019 National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry . May 13, 2020 . National Book Foundation.
8. September 18, 2019 . The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Poetry . . May 13, 2020.
9. Web site: Wappler . Margaret . September 18, 2019 . 10 poets make the National Book Awards longlist . May 13, 2020 . Los Angeles Times.
10. Web site: 2019 Winners & Finalists . May 13, 2020 . National Book Critics Circle Award.
11. Web site: The Tradition, by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press) . May 13, 2020 . The Pulitzer Prizes.
12. Web site: Yee . Katie . March 10, 2020 . Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards! . May 13, 2020 . Literary Hub.