Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves

by J. Drew Lanham

From J. Drew Lanham, MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and author of Sparrow A Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts , comes a sensuous new collection in his signature mix of poetry and prose. In gorgeous and timely pieces, Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves is a lush journey into wildness and Black being. Lanham notices nature through seasonal shifts, societal unrest, and deeply personal reflection and traces a path from bitter history to the present predicament. Drawing canny connections between the precarity of nature and the long arm of racism, the collection offers reconciliation and eco-reparation as hopeful destinations from our current climate of division. In Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves , Lanham mines the deep connection to ancestors through the living world and tunes his unique voice toward embracing the radical act of joy.

Genres: Poetry, Nature, Nonfiction, Essays, Birds, Social Justice, Race

112 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2024

About the author

A native of Edgefield, South Carolina, J. Drew Lanham is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, which received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal. He is a birder, naturalist, and hunter-conservationist who has published essays and poetry in publications including Orion, Audubon, Flycatcher, and Wilderness, and in several anthologies, including The Colors of Nature, State of the Heart, Bartram’s Living Legacy, and Carolina Writers at Home. An Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, he and his family live in the Upstate of South Carolina, a soaring hawk’s downhill glide from the southern Appalachian escarpment that the Cherokee once called the Blue Wall.

Reviews

[Tim Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful blend of short prose and poetry. J. Drew Lanham pays lyrical homage to the natural world, embracing its endless wonder, not shying away from the terrible things we humans have done to it. And he does so through an intersectional lens, exploring race and place in the age of climate crisis, daring us to imagine all that is right here, all that is at stake. A lasting, needed book.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume of poetry and prose from J. Drew Lanham. He continues explorations of identity affiliation with all things wild and free, not to mention surly or sometimes misunderstood-- from black birds like ravens and starlings to fearsome animals like bears that represent "nature, red in tooth and claw." Through it all he finds respite, safety, and most of all joy in all parts of the natural world. Drew is an incredibly gifted writer and the world needs more of his unique voice.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lanham brings readers into nature, alongside birdsong and landscapes, to find peace and the wilderness within, while confronting the realities of racism and how that affects perceptions of nature. The idea of Blackness features strongly with blackbirds, crows, Ravens, and starlings making repeat appearances living alongside Lanham's lived experience as a Black man in America. There were so many luminous insights here, and my perspective was definitely shifted on the topic of "invasive" species that we tend to abhor even though they never asked to be here and hold their own beauty and will to live. If you love birds, and nature. If you are curious about the places where nature and ideas of race intersect you will deeply appreciate this book of truly wonderful poetry and prose. 

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to rate this one because it explores very important topics (antiracism, anticolonialism, etc) and *is* good, but I just couldn't connect with it more often than not (I think only the titular poem, which is really really good, and maybe 2-3 others really grasped me). I think a large part of it was the really abstract nature metaphors that are great in theory but lost me very quickly nearly every time. It could just be that maybe the author's writing style is just not for me or if maybe I may need to come back to this another time or if maybe I'm not much or a poetry person?

TL;DR: Great but felt it hard to connect with this book (could be because of writing style, timing of read, or lack of deep personal connection to nature or spirituality).

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Joy is your truth / being the same behind my back / as to my face."

"Don't blame beings / who never asked to be here / for their presence / but found a way to thrive / in spot of fickle minds / who'd just as soon destroy / them once their service is done."

"No one denied the eye-bending beauty of a painted bunting by saying, "I don't see color.""

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Drew Lanham is an absolute treasure; I can't begin to express how grateful I am that he exists here.

[Blaise Kyrios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely poetry but also too much bird info lol

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved "Fifteen Rules for Better Being"

[Michael Sasson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short-form writing that is an example of how people are complicated and lovable.
See poems on pp25 & 42

p14 Then, as every responsible person puts head down to grindstone and work, carrying forward some responsible discipline, I'll steal away out there, where joy comes in the form of feathers and I can be a movement of one before the hamster wheel spins -- hashtagged to a singular cause: just being.
p17 These are the days that the mustard greens get bitter and taste best. [...] These are the days of deep-fried turkeys and cornbread dressing (never ever ever stuffing). These are the days of sweet potato pie (punkins are for jack-o-lanterns and for fake coffee flavorings). This is not the day to visit the scale.
p18 Each present has become yesterday way too fast.
p20 When humanity fails -- and it always does -- I find a solution to most sad equations in that nature does not.
p32 Joy is the paradise
we can claim
right here,
right now.
No vengeful gods
craving prayer,
no tenth in tithes to pay,
no repenter's cover charge ---
no dying required to get in.
p33 Joy is being loved
up close
for who we are.
p34 Joy is the healing,
broken dreams restored --
soaring.
Langston's words
kettling higher
on hopes,
drifting ever upwards
on ragged-mid-lined rhyme,
dancing to syncopated verse.
p35 Joy is the sharp eye
watching little brown sparrows,
and the kind one,
focused
on little brown children too.
p40 Joy is the reward,
the salary already earned --
back pay
with four centuries' interest
compounded daily.
At least eighty acres --
and two mules.

Joy is the day off,
just because.
p59 Revelation #2
No one denies the eye-bending beauty of a painted bunting by saying, "I don't see color."
p68 It is foolish anyway
to choose awe over joy. [...]
I am all that converges in wanting.
p75 And so,
as the hours pass
I find I less need to know anything
except how to find
more time
to watch a bird
be a bird.
No watch on either of our wrists
required.
p79 But I'll let the bean counters and naysayer modelers have their numbers, for now. I'm claiming highly unlikely today, as my sure-bet desire. My gift of wonder given to me. I'm afflicted with this whole idea of birds and endless possibilities. That foolishness bleeds over sometimes into people too.
p80 Stay away from rules that make you otherwise than who your heart tells you to be.
p86 1. No meeting without a clear agenda, unless with birds or wild beasts or those tending toward such. [...]
5. Don't seek those who don't seek you. <> [...]
6. Treat time alone as a gift. (See 5) [...]
10. Make the word "no" a comfort word. It will become more palatable with use as it is an acquired taste.
p87 13. Moderate... except for when sheer bliss is guaranteed. [...]
15. A response is not always necessary. Don't play catch when the ball is being thrown AT you. Only play when it's being thrown TO you.
p90 [...] in wounded hearts asked again and again to be the better person with knees on our necks
p91 It is my hope that in this effort of Joy bringing, a few lines blur on the continuum of time, space, and identity to bring us all closer together.
Amen.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY made time to read this after grabbing it from the library like a month ago (thank you renewals)! Poetry is hard for me. And it makes my mind wander which makes the ideas hidden even more obscure. But generally, I enjoyed Lanham’s collection.

I’m not a bird-person, and I knew little going in, so I didn’t expect the poetry to be so heavily bird-themed (tbt to bird imagery in Mr. Ganz’ sophomore english class). But I enjoyed the natural aspects of it and the way Lanham implored the reader to become more feral. His lessons will stick with me. Most of all, I enjoyed his poems on justice and liberation and inequality. The poem early-on (which I cannot cite now cause I left the book in my car) about being constantly stressed by all the injustices of the world and not knowing what to do about it all especially touched me.

The world is SO HEAVY lately and laden with miseries that I don’t think the human mind is meant to psychologically handle on such a constant basis. I am so often exhausted just from the mental gymnastics required to stay up to date with news while also being stressed by work and my own personal life is… a lot. And I appreciated Lanham’s take on it. His outlook of returning more to our (literal) roots (nature). I hope his words can help me be more mindful and find joy within the natural world I’m surrounded by.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems (I call them poems even though they are not labeled as poems in the book) are full of flowers, butterflies, and birds. Especially birds! They show up in most of these poems. I like that since I like poetry and birds.

The eleven page title poem is a rich and thoughtful look at possible sources of joy. Some of these poems are prose poems, and some are lists. They reminded me of my own work which also includes lists and prose poems. One poem in this book "Nine new Revelations for the Black Bird-Watcher" includes "No one denies the eye-bending beauty of the painted bunting by saying ' I don't see color.'" "Ten Rules for Going Feral" includes "Never walk a straight line" and "Shun concrete. Shutter convention," and " Fifteen Rules for Better Being," includes "No one will ever value the minutes remaining in your life like you do," and "Make the word "no" a comfort word." This is good information and gifted to us in good poetry. This book demonstrates how poetry can be words of wisdom.

The author includes a five page glossary with definitions for words like "Denali," "thrush," "vexed," and oth

The author received a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2022 and is the Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University. This book is a 2024 publication and proof that valuable poetry is still being written and published.

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small part of the title poem. You should read everything that Dr. Lanham has written. I am so grateful for this book of poetry in this moment.


"Joy is all the Black birds,

flocked together,

too many to count,

too many to name,

every one different

from the next,

swirling in singularity

across amber-purpled sky.



Joy is being loved

up close

for who we are.



Joy is the last song,

drifting in

as dark curtains fall;

the sparrow’s vesper offering,

whistle lain down

in pine-templed woods,

requiem in me-minor—

church in a cathedral time built.

No stained glass.

No pulpit.

Altars everywhere.

Just listen.

Just look.



Joy is the return,

the wandering warbler

landed in the backyard again,

from who knows where,

to rest,

to uplift lagging spirit.



Joy is the healing,

broken dreams restored—

soaring.

Langston’s words

kettling higher

on hopes,

drifting ever upwards

on ragged-mid-lined rhyme,

dancing to syncopated verse.



Joy is our lives mattering,

Blackness respected.

It is seeing my color,

hue not blinded by privilege,

the pious privilege

of claiming you don’t."

[Kate Ellesworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of being introduced to this collection of poems, lists, essays, and observations on race and the wild at an author reading. It was especially powerful to keep in mind the Lanham's presence and voice as I read-in particular as I read pieces that wrangle with race.

I enjoyed reading about the many birds that proliferate this collection while listening to the summer morning birds on my porch-- not being a knowledgeable birder, I returned to my google search multiple times- however you need not define each word to feel the power and beauty of this collection.

A must read for South Carolinians longing for home or for anyone wishing to move aside the cultivated world or a moment in the wild.

[BookBrowse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The directness of his words in these moments, and references to the very real and tragic deaths of Black Americans from police brutality, hit like a punch to the gut. This juxtaposition with the otherwise gentle imagery serves to further emphasize how radical it is for Black people and other oppressed groups to choose joy against all the odds; to be reminded that the world can be a beautiful and healing place, for all the ugliness and hurt it contains.
-Callum McLaughlin

Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...

[Aaron Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each page is a window into a creature, a way of life, or maybe an entire race. What unites them is a tender immediacy, and an earned tiredness.

However, what’s impressive is that despite all of that there is a hopeful and joyful tone at times. To feel camaraderie with that while also not exactly seeing my experience on the page is a cool feat.

I really enjoyed this one — do not skip the definitions on the last few pages. Drew has an expert curtness that can allow the truth to cut through instantly.

He’s one of the best naturalist voices I know of right now. Someone in the throes of it, who’s also managing to be a guide.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now more than ever:

“Joy is what was meant to be.
The mystery of impossibility happening.
The assurance of uncertainty.
Joy is my seeking.
Your being.
It is mine for the taking.
Ours to share.
More than enough to go around,
when it seems nowhere to be found.
Have yourself a heapin’ serving.
Have seconds. Or thirds.
‘Cause
joy is the justice
we must give ourselves.”
—from “Joy is the Justice (We Give Ourselves,” p. 41


Favorite Poems:
“Dead Is the New Black”
“Sunflowers, as if”
“Joy is the Justice (We Give Ourselves)”
“Winter Kill”
“Some Advice”
“Joy As It Comes”
“Wild Goldfish”
“Be Wild!”
“Pine Warbler”
“Ten Rules for Going Feral”
“Coffee Black”
“Fifteen Rules for Better Being”
“All That We Carry (forever incomplete)”
“Glossary”

[Alyson Indrunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite poem: Some Advice
Favorite stanza

If you can,
find some corner of the world at peace.
A sliver of green. Water serene.
Wherever nearby. Far away.
Go there. Burrow in. Listen to birds.
Talk with frogs.
Turn off what you can't control.
Turn on to something wild.
Be bold in your silence.
Do what you can where you are
to notice,
to nurture something good.

Also loved "Glossary"
Slack Tide
The moments of still water. A resting indecision between high and low.

[Dan Herrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard the author speak at a conference and enjoyed his talk so much that I bought his book. I expected his writing style to mimic his speaking style, but unfortunately found that not to be the case. The poems cover many important topics, and some are quite powerful and thought provoking. But as someone who has never been particularly interested in poetry, this he book didn’t resonante with me like his spoken word did and that was disappointing.

[Chris Benetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves is a beautiful and deeply thoughtful collection that finds powerful connections between the natural world, Black identity, history, and the healing force of joy. J. Drew Lanham’s blend of poetry and prose is lyrical yet grounded, inviting readers to consider how nature, memory, injustice, and hope shape one another. It’s an evocative work that feels both timely and enduring, offering joy not as escape, but as a meaningful form of resilience and reclamation.

[Catrina Berka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from the New poetry shelf of my library on a whim - I’d never heard of J. Drew Lanham but I was intrigued by the cover and description. I enjoyed how he wove politics and nature together in his poetry, though sometimes it became preachy. Overall, I enjoyed this collection, especially “Some Advice.”

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It’s a wonderful combination of internal, external, and societal observances of and reflections on nature, culture, and spirit. From details of specific bird species to accounts of laugh-or-cry ignorance from his fellow humans, plus some necessary moments of intense grief, Lanham is a great guide and companion in this collection of poems, prose poems and lyric essays.

[Kelsey Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and thoughtful book of poetry and prose. It was a joy to read this after having the pleasure of hearing Dr. Lanham speak earlier this spring. He has a way of making his words both deeply personal and applicable to many. My favorite poem was "Pine Warbler".

[Lashunda Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am drawn to poetry that evokes musical rhythms through the written word. This collection ain’t that. The poems overall lack soul and therefore fall flat for me as a reader. Maybe there is a rhythm there that I just couldn’t pick up.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

rtc.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25* A more serious collection than the author's last book of poems, 'Sparrow Envy', but still very much worth the read.

[Eleanor Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

One time this man missed a meeting with me because he was making soup - Otherwise this would be 5 stars.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drew Lanham’s writing always speaks to my heart and soul, and this collection of poetry is no exception. He even included a glossary that is a work of art.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kind of book. Lovely poems and prose about birds, nature, being black, slavery, racism. I want to read again and probably again, so wonderful and beautifully written.

[Sahara Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely antiracist, anticolonial poetry for peaceful, grounded reading.

[Bradley Sides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book of the year (so far)…