Reads 365: No.26
April- Poetry & Prose
Poetry, literary works & lyrical fiction
Some of the books features heavy subject matter, so please be mindful of the content warnings and research them fully.
Your mental wellbeing matters.
Mumbo Jumbo
by Ishmael Reed
1920s Harlem. A plague called "Jes Grew" is spreading and it makes people DANCE. The establishment wants it stopped.
Ishmael Reed's postmodern masterpiece is part detective novel, part cultural satire, part Afrofuturist history. As "Jes Grew" (Black joy, creativity, freedom) spreads through America, secret societies battle for control of culture itself.
Wild, experimental, brilliant. Published 1972, still ahead of its time.
💫 Perfect for:
• Experimental fiction lovers
• Harlem Renaissance enthusiasts
• Afrofuturism readers
• Anyone who loves formally innovative work
⭐ Visionary
📖 Afrofuturist history
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #MumboJumbo #IshmaelReed #Postmodern #HarlemRenaissance #Afrofuturism #ExperimentalFiction #1970s #ClassicLiterature #DiverseBooks
Revival Season
by Monica West
Miriam's father is a charismatic preacher who heals people. Until one night, a healing goes wrong, and Miriam sees the truth.
Monica West's debut follows 15-year-old Miriam, daughter of a traveling revival preacher, as she witnesses something that shatters her faith. Set in the Black evangelical church world, this is about faith, family, secrets, and finding your own voice.
Tender and devastating.
💫 Perfect for:
• Coming-of-age readers
• Anyone exploring faith and doubt
• Fans of The Miseducation of Cameron Post
• Black church culture enthusiasts
⭐ Debut novel
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #RevivalSeason #MonicaWest #Faith #BlackChurch #ComingOfAge #Evangelical #DebutNovel #Southern #DiverseBooks
Lakewood
by Megan Giddings
Lena needs money for her mother's medical bills. She signs up for a medical study. The side effects? Memory loss, hallucinations, and maybe something worse.
Megan Giddings's debut is horror meets social commentary; exploring medical racism, economic desperation, and what people will endure for survival. As Lena's reality fractures in Lakewood, the medical study reveals America's long history of experimenting on Black bodies.
Tuskegee echoes throughout.
💫 Perfect for:
• Horror readers wanting social commentary
• Fans of Get Out
• Anyone interested in medical ethics
• Speculative fiction enthusiasts
🎭 Memory and reality
⭐Debut brilliance
📚Genre: Science Fiction/Horror
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #Lakewood #MeganGiddings #Horror #SciFi #MedicalHorror #Tuskegee #SocialCommentary #BlackHorror #DiverseBooks
A Lucky Man
by Jamel Brinkley
Black men navigating Brooklyn, desire, violence, and vulnerability. Jamel Brinkley's stories are tender, honest, and unafraid.
These interconnected stories explore Black masculinity through relationships, sexuality, family, and the spaces where men are allowed to be soft. Set in Brooklyn, Brinkley writes Black men with nuance rarely seen—vulnerable, complex, fully human.
Every story earned its place in this collection.
💫 Perfect for:
• Short story enthusiasts
• Readers exploring Black masculinity
• Brooklyn narrative lovers
• Anyone who loves character-driven fiction
⭐ Black masculinity
📚 Genre: Short Stories
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #ALuckyMan #JamelBrinkley #NationalBookAward #ShortStories #BlackMasculinity #Brooklyn #Vulnerability #LiteraryFiction #DiverseBooks
A River Called Time
by Courttia Newland
Alternate London. Inner and Outer City divided. The dead can be contacted. Elijah discovers his family's buried secrets—and a conspiracy.
Courttia Newland's speculative epic reimagines London as a city where Black people built pyramids, communicate with ancestors, and navigate class divides. When Elijah wins a scholarship to Inner City, family secrets unravel, revealing a world more complex than he knew.
Afrofuturist London. Ambitious worldbuilding.
💫 Perfect for:
• Speculative fiction readers
• Afrofuturism enthusiasts
• Alternate history lovers
• Anyone seeking ambitious worldbuilding
⭐ Black British sci-fi
📚 Genre: Science Fiction
#MarginsXReads #Day15 #PoetryAndProse #ARiverCalledTime #CourttiaNewland #Afrofuturism #BlackBritish #SciFi #London #AlternateHistory #SpeculativeFiction #DiverseBooks
Ordinary People
by Diana Evans
Two couples. South London. Love fading. What happens when the extraordinary becomes ordinary?
Diana Evans follows two couples; Melissa and Michael, Stephanie and Damian, through marriage, parenthood, and the slow erosion of passion.
Set against South London's grit and beauty, this is about love's dailiness, Black British middle-class life, and the work relationships require.
Quiet brilliance.
💫 Perfect for:
• Relationship drama readers
• Fans of character-driven fiction
• Black British literature seekers
• Anyone exploring marriage and parenthood
⭐ Women's Prize Finalist
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #OrdinaryPeople #DianaEvans #WomensPrize #BlackBritish #SouthLondon #Marriage #Relationships #LiteraryFiction #DiverseBooks
Make Your Home Among Strangers
by Jennine Capó Crucet
Lizet escapes Miami for an elite college. Then Elián González arrives, and her two worlds collide.
Set during the Elián González custody battle, Jennine Capó Crucet's semi-autobiographical novel follows Lizet, a Cuban-American first-gen college student navigating cultural dislocation, family pressure, and what "making it" costs.
Sharp, funny, and heartbreaking.
💫 Perfect for:
• First-gen college student readers
• Anyone exploring code-switching
• Fans of coming-of-age narratives
⭐ International Latino Book Award
🌍Cuban-American experience
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #MakeYourHome #JennineCapóCrucet #CubanAmerican #FirstGen #Miami #College #CodeSwitching #LiteraryFiction #DiverseBooks
April’s Poetry & Prose list