Black American Poet Shares Poem About Grief & Mental Health In New Book

Indianapolis,United States - April 21, 2022 /PressCable/ —

Her writing centers on the emotion of grief, which she describes as a particularly hard thing to swallow. More specifically, her recent work is focused on the profound loss, sadness and oppression which is often endured by the African American community in the United States.

More information on the release of ‘Four Years in Chrysalis’ is available at https://bit.ly/AishaTariqaBooks

The release of her new book coincides with sobering new statistics from The National Library of Medicine, which show that the burden of depression is shouldered far more heavily by African Americans. Moreover, members of the Black community who are diagnosed with depression typically endure a more serious, chronic, and severely debilitating form of the disease.

Sadly, this unequal burden still exists despite the fact that cases of depression and mental illness tend to be heavily under-reported in African American communities. This is due to the fact that the issue still remains taboo.

In Aisha Tariqa’s opinion, grief is a poison that has been forced down the throats of Black Americans for so long that they have forgotten what it’s like to be without it.

However, the poet also understands that poetry has long been regarded as a communal way to deal with mental health issues. As such, she is proud to be channeling her own personal experiences with grief and shame into slam poetry, a medium of choice for many in the Black artistic community.

In her debut book, ‘Four Years in Chrysalis’, she reflects upon the waves of grief she endured following the death of her baby brother due to gun violence. One particularly moving extract from the book runs as follows:

“If you should ache in the evenings for loved ones wishing that the truth were less than true

Remember the soft hilarity of their face and the gentle mischief smiles reminding you why smiles exist

Think of these things and ache further

For they will remind you of why you should ache”

Aisha Tariqa wanted to share these words in this article to express her mission: that readers of her poetry will similarly champion the changes that Black communities need to make in order to heal from their endemic grief and the high prevalence of mental illness.

Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq is a determined and passionate young poet. She believes in the power of the written word to attain both individual and communal catharsis. She encourages her readers to follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @AishaTariqa.

A spokesperson for the poet said, “Grief is one of those things that never really goes away—it just changes shape. The pain doesn’t leave, but Black communities can find ways to live with it through exploring avenues for mental health care and allowing themselves to heal—poetry is one of those avenues. That’s something Aisha found in her own experience with grief, and she knows the reader can relate to it, as well.”

More details can be found at https://www.aishatariqa.com/landing-page

Contact Info:
Name: Aisha Abdul-Haqq
Email: Send Email
Organization: Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq Publishing LLC
Address: 55 Monument Circle 7th Floor, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, United States
Website: https://www.aishatariqa.com/publishing-services

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 89073736

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