description The New Testament Overview
'The New Testament' is a 2014 poetry collection by American poet Jericho Brown, published by Copper Canyon Press. The collection engages with themes of race, masculinity, sexuality, and religion through formally varied verse that draws on biblical language and personal narrative. Brown received the 2015 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for this work, which recognizes books that contribute to understanding of racism and cultural diversity. He later won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his subsequent collection 'The Tradition.' The book appeals to readers of contemporary African American and queer poetry.
help The New Testament FAQ
What themes does Jericho Brown explore in The New Testament?
The collection confronts race, masculinity, sexuality, faith, violence, family, and the vulnerability of the Black male body. Biblical language appears beside contemporary American experience, making the title both spiritual and deliberately confrontational.
Did The New Testament win a major literary award?
Yes. The 2014 collection received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, which recognizes literature addressing racism and human diversity.
Is Jericho Brown's duplex form used in The New Testament?
The duplex form is chiefly associated with Brown's later collection The Tradition, published in 2019. The New Testament instead uses varied lyric structures, repetition, inherited forms, and musical phrasing.
How does The New Testament relate to Jericho Brown's first book?
It follows Please, his 2008 debut, while continuing his engagement with music, desire, race, and personal history. The later book brings Christian imagery and the language of testimony more explicitly into those concerns.
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