the Colored page

by Matthew E. Henry

This stunning new poetry collection by Matthew E. Henry (MEH), the Colored page, is a visceral meditation on the multi-layered experience of a Black body in educational spaces. Sprawling with metaphors and allusions to both the contemporary and the historic, Henry brings us an intense narrative chronicle of the speaker's life as student, educator, and finally as a writer. At the center there is a reckoning with the racism written into the pages of America, and Henry leads us from the microaggressions of educational oversight, to the horror of blatant dehumanization. In pieces that directly call out those responsible-educators, institutions, and peers alike-the speaker moves via Henry's generously vivid poems through open letters, vignettes, and poetic narratives that uncover the realities of an educator's life's work in the "United" States today. Here we see the impact of ferocious racism and its brutal cousin, weaponized incompetence. In a world that so often seeks to minimize Black experiences, the Colored page does not inflate, but neither does it look away. Yet, too, there is joy in these pages. Henry invites us to love, but please don't touch, the beauty of Black hair, of Black lives, and of our Black students. For as much as he shines that telling Black light on the stains of the institutions he has spent his life within, Henry here evidences a life well-lived, a life spent studying, growing, and thriving despite the biased budgeting and the crude mishandling of student dignity. Henry asks us to look at the vile and call it out, but then we are tasked to shift our focus to the glory that is the student who triumphs. Henry invites us, ultimately, to a celebration.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2022

About the author

Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the author of multiple collections of poetry, but dabbles in prose . The editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal, and an associate poetry editor at Pidgeonholes and Rise Up Review, MEH’s poetry and prose appears in Barren Magazine, Fahmidan Journal, The Florida Review, Frontier Poetry, Massachusetts Review, New York Quarterly, Ninth Letter, Ploughshares, Poetry East, Shenandoah, Solstice, and Zone 3 among others. MEH’s an educator who received his MFA yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing an MA in theology and a PhD in education. You can find him at www.MEHPoeting.com and @MEHPoeting writing and tweeting about education, race, religion, and burning oppressive systems to the ground. Please feel free to reach out to MEH at MEHPoeting (at) gmail (dot com).

Reviews

[Katharine Tapley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were times that I had to put this book down, because the emotion that came through his words made me ugly cry. I had to pick it back up and finish it in one sitting. I knew that this was one of the most important books of poetry that I would ever read.

In my head, I saw, not just the writer and those he mentioned. I saw Black kids that my white children have gone to school with for years, and the too few Black teachers they have had. I will be buying more copies, and sending them to my friends who are teachers, my friends who are Black, and especially to my friends who are both. You do not need to be a teacher, or a parent to appreciate this work. If you have gone to school in America, you will find familiarity here.

It's fitting that Henry's book references Langston Hughes, because that's who his work reminds me of. There is pain, anger, biting humor, and the exhaustion and conviction of a man who has become one of the people he needed when he was younger.

[Raegen Pietrucha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains:

— A full circle of America’s educational experience, from student to teacher
— Formal explorations
— Cleverly embedded/reimagined literary and cultural references
— Unflinching truth
— Righteous rage
— Biting wit
— Reasons to laugh
— Reasons to cry
— Reasons that make you want to scream so loud and so long it actually makes the entire planet combust
— Reasons to read its words again and again

[Matthew Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning poetry collection by one of my new favorite writers, the poet and educator Matthew E. Henry. Drawing on his experiences learning/teaching while Black, this book was an unflinching examination of racism in the American school system, especially in overwhelmingly white districts. I could feel his heart dripping on every page: for his students, and for every other Black educator in America, the ones teaching currently and the ones who will ones day occupy his position. It's a brave book with so much truth-telling that I would actively fear publishing it as an educator in his position. Because of that, it's essential reading for anyone who's been through the American school system.

I was so impressed by these poems, in both their accessible and their craft. Henry is the master of a provocative poem title that elicits gasps and draws you in immediately. Much of the book is occupied by "open letter" and "when asked..." poems that keep the book grounded in real, visceral interactions with students, staff, faculty. I found myself constantly outraged throughout the book by white students hanging nooses in bathroom stalls or acted unimpressed that Harriet Tubman freed "only 300"; by white teachers throwing Black boys out of class for having too much lotion; by inattentive parents "too busy posting shit about other parents on Facebook" to know what their children are struggling with. Every poem fits on a single page, and he doesn't let a single line go to waste. They are packed with quick wit, history lessons, teachable moments, allusions to Black writers and historical figures, and unexpected gut-punches. He maintains compassion for wrongdoers in the poems, but he's not afraid of being candid or making enemies; he drags people who deserve to be dragged with surgery-precision reads that would make a drag queen blush.

These poems ask to be read again and again. One of the few poetry books I shared with my fiancé, and we were up talking about the poems late into the night. A final note, if you ever get the chance to see Henry read his poetry live, don't miss the opportunity! He is such a compelling and dynamic reader.

[Melissa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even know how to explain how much I love this book. Maybe the most honest and necessary book I've ever read.

[Jodie Toresdahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Henry writes about being a Black student and then a Black teacher in predominantly white classrooms. These poems felt like a master class in word choice, restraint, metaphor, and imagery. I didn't realize I was holding my breath through many of the poems until I exhaled sharply at the last word.

[Zora Ali · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be completely honest this isn’t my cup of tea. Although I’m black I have to admit I don’t enjoy the kind of “black struggle poems”. I’m a lover of black literature and a lover of western poetry- yes I feel failed as a black person. But! This poetry collection has turned me around. Poems like diaspora, conversations with a white girl, and etymology. Are all very powerful and moving pieces of poetry. And all though the topic discussed through out the book is not something I really adhere to- the poetry is great. Even though I grew up in the south - east. I’ve personally never had any racist experiences, not even in school. But this book was very eye opening to the reality other people face.