{"product_id":"its-important-i-remember-poems-hardback-9780810149649","title":"It's Important I Remember; Poems (Hardback) 9780810149649","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eIt's Important I Remember\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003ePoems\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eCortney Lamar Charleston (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780810149649, Northwestern University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 15 February 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e184 pages\u003cbr\u003e25.4 x 17.8 x 3.3 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e“This collection has moved me so completely, kept me rapt in wonder at its incisive craft and heady treatises-in-verse. While \u003ci\u003eIt’s Important I Remember\u003c\/i\u003e rails, seethes, and spews its rage in equal doses, it also soothes, goads, and, finally, exhorts.” —L. Lamar Wilson, author of \u003ci\u003eSacrilegion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “This is more than a collection of poetry; these poems are a portal into Cortney Lamar Charleston’s brilliant mind. They challenge orthodoxy, they mine the archives, they expand our imaginations. \u003ci\u003eIt’s Important I Remember\u003c\/i\u003e is magnificent.” —Clint Smith, author of\u003ci\u003e Above Ground: Poems \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Cortney Lamar Charleston’s \u003ci\u003eIt’s Important I Remember\u003c\/i\u003e considers American history’s relentless patterns while confronting our existence within its centuries-old design. Ambitious and unflinching, these poems are lessons in curiosity and compassion—'favor[ing] the right answer, not the correct one.’” —Nicole Sealey, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ferguson Report: An Erasure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn incantation of strength and solace for persisting in twenty-first-century America\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.” In his sweeping third collection, Charleston brings a poet’s ear for echo and rhythm to bear on American history and life after 2016. For Charleston, these rhymes cut two ways: the long tradition of American racism and fascism, and the steady pulse of Black persistence. The collection’s titular invocation frames each poem, at times an oratory to rally a crowd, in other moments a private prayer whispered as the speaker gathers himself to face another day. Charleston insists that should we cede memory of our national biography—whether to repression or indifference—we will witness the country’s dissolution into something unrecognizable to most, yet all too familiar to its most marginalized people. But with each reiteration and riff, he also invokes a tenuous hope—that if we summon an American history of Black resistance, we might still make a more perfect union.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIt’\u003cbr\u003es Important I Remember—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ethis country is sick \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eI Can Never Wash My Hands Enough—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere Are Several Ways to Kill Houseplants—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eSurvival Is a Matter of Luck—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eDarkness and Blackness Aren’\u003cbr\u003et Perfect Synonyms—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eWhite Blood Cells Fight Disease Within the Body—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eBeing Alone and Being Lonely Aren’\u003cbr\u003et the Same Thing—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThings Are Getting Back to Normal Around Here—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eunder new management \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere Was No Poet at Donald Trump’\u003cbr\u003es Inauguration—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ea Tank Has Never Stopped the Lyric—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ePeople Who Search for Me on Google Also Search for Terrance Hayes—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eEven Donald Trump Didn’\u003cbr\u003et Believe He’\u003cbr\u003ed Win the Election—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003emade in America \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eDropping a Bomb on an Occupied Row House Is Unconscionable—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eWhite Men Killed Martin Luther King Jr.—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eNelson Mandela Wasn’\u003cbr\u003et Non-Violent—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eI’\u003cbr\u003em Not Built for This Fight—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eFascism Didn’\u003cbr\u003et Come to America, It Was Already Here—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eGood Artists Copy—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere Is No Universally Recognized Definition—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThe Enemy of My Enemy Is Someone I Don’\u003cbr\u003et Know Very Well—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003epledges of allegiance \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eHarry S. Truman Was Presented with Four Options—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe United States Hasn’\u003cbr\u003et Issued a Declaration of War Since World War II—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThey Hate Us for Our Freedom—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eAmerica Is Full of Shit—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Enemy Is Always Within—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eExile Doesn’\u003cbr\u003et Promise Extrication—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ePalestinians Know Our Police Better Than We Do—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eproperty’\u003cbr\u003es rights \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eHistory Is All a Big Misunderstanding—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThomas Jefferson Was a Rapist—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eEnslaved People Married Here—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eAbraham Lincoln Always Measured Before He Cut—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Final Scene in Django Unchained Is the Destruction of Candyland—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eJohn Brown Was the First Person Executed for Treason in U.S. History—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ejustice delayed is justice denied \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eToni Morrison Dubbed Bill Clinton the First Black President—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eOrange Is the New Black—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eJournalism Is the First Draft of History—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eNina Simone Wrote “\u003cbr\u003eMississippi Goddam”\u003cbr\u003e in Less Than One Hour—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Moral Arc of the Universe Bends—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eAmerica Exists by a Kind of Grace—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ethe opposite of love \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ea Current Event Is a Current—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eHistory Doesn’\u003cbr\u003et Repeat, It Rhymes—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eMy Employer Cares About My Safety and Well-Being—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eWe’\u003cbr\u003ere Not Bearing Witness, We’\u003cbr\u003ere Watching—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ein Order for White People to Study My Life They Must First Study My Body—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere’\u003cbr\u003es a Difference Between a Human Being and a Person—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eJesus Wept—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThey Don’\u003cbr\u003et Have the Tools to Critique Me—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eAll I Have to Do Is Stay Black and Die—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003einsure domestic tranquility \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Right to Keep and Bear Arms Is the Second Amendment—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eIt Costs Extra to Add Cheese on a Whopper—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Feeling of an Eye on Me Burns—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Root of the Problem Is the Root—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Zimmerman Isn’\u003cbr\u003et White—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eWhiteness Is Only an Orientation—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003einevitability \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eLyndon B. Johnson Said, “\u003cbr\u003eWe Have Lost the South for a Generation”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ePolitics Is a Contact Sport—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ePeople Voted for Donald Trump Because of Economic Anxiety—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003esick and tired of being sick and tired \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere’\u003cbr\u003es a March Tomorrow—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eSojourner Truth Hadn’\u003cbr\u003et Suffered Enough—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eFannie Lou Hamer Kept the Phone Off the Hook—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eSouth Carolina Seceded First—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eRosa Parks Was the Perfect Candidate—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eElla Baker Was Married to the Movement—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003emy sister’\u003cbr\u003es keeper \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eHalle Berry Is the Only Black Woman to Win an Academy Award for Best Actress—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eFrederick Douglass Learned How to Read—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eEven BeyoncÉ\u003cbr\u003e Got Cheated On—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eI Believed I Could Fly—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eLove Presumes Protection—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eHarriet Tubman Had a Pistol on Her at All Times—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003esometimes it be your own peoples \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eBlack Men Killed Malcolm X—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eTupac Shakur Was 25 When He Was Murdered—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eJay-Z Arrived on the Day Fred Hampton Died—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eTwista Can Make You a Celebrity Overnight—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eKanye West Doesn’\u003cbr\u003et Care About Black People—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Obamas’\u003cbr\u003e First Date Was Seeing Do the Right Thing—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eI’\u003cbr\u003em Avoiding the Footage—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eParting Is Such Sweet Sorrow—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eOne Black Justice Replaced Another—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ea thing with feathers \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ea Lack of Imagination Kills—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eThere’\u003cbr\u003es Always Hope—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eGod Intervenes—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eto be determined \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003ethe Majority of Americans Agree the Country Is on the Wrong Track—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e …\u003cbr\u003eDonald Trump’\u003cbr\u003es Supporters Attacking the Capitol Was Unprecedented, Not Unpredictable—\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Important Dates \u003cbr\u003e Important Notes \u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Curbstone Books 2","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52676747002136,"sku":"9780810149649","price":21.38,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/its-important-i-remember-poems-hardback-9780810149649","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}