Ain't Never Not Been Black Topaz Winters Butcher takes the body of

Butcher takes the body of a cow and cleaves it into 5 parts: envisioning the cuts as relationship with family members and social forces

this spare but rich collection weaves an emotionally complex tapestry that includes bits of history and Biblical tradition as well as fragments of our calamitous present

In his debut full length collection

illustrated throughout with evocative line drawings by Sarah J

Ain't Never Not Been Black Topaz Winters Butcher takes the body ofJavon Johnson, 2020 Ain't Never Not Been Black foregrounds Black pleasure Black pain and Black love in unflinchingly Black ways. Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you. This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in America these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can