First printing: 10,000 hardcover copies.
Includes 11 previously unpublished poems by Lucille Clifton.
How to Carry Water will be the first collection of Lucille Clifton’s poems to be selected and edited by a woman of color. This is the first selected collection of Clifton’s poetry since her death in 2010.
Lucille Clifton’s previous books, including Blessing the Boats and The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton, continue to be among BOA’s bestsellers. Her poetry continues to be widely shared and admired on Twitter and Instagram.
BOA will launch its first Kickstarter campaign in April 2020 to raise early awareness and cover printing/publicity expenses for How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton. The Lannan Foundation has offered a challenge grant to match up to $40,000 of funds raised to support How to Carry Water.
Depending on the results of the Kickstarter campaign, BOA will consider contracting a freelance publicist and print ads in major media outlets and review publications to promote this title.
BOA is producing a short 15-minute documentary on the life and poetry of Lucille Clifton to be released as promotion for How to Carry Water as well as being distributed as a Kickstarter reward. The documentary will feature interviews with Aracelis Girmay, BOA Publisher Peter Conners, and Lucille Clifton’s daughters, among others.
Heavy publicity push to major dailies, weeklies, African American media outlets, and public radio.
150+ galleys will be printed in April 2020.
Galley mailing to key reviewers, media outlets, and booksellers 4-5 months prior to publication. Additional galleys will be available upon request.
Digital galleys available by request on Edelweiss+ 3-4 months prior to publication.
Advanced review copies and press materials will be sent to a targeted list of 150-200 reviewers in July 2020. Additional galleys available by request: [email protected].
National advertising: Poets & Writers, American Poets, and the Academy of American Poets newsletter.
Outreach to online media and bloggers including BuzzFeed, Bustle, Book Riot, Literary Hub etc.
Buy-ins to relevant academic conferences, trade shows, and publications targeting poetry and African American studies. Currently considering: American Library Association Annual Meeting, CBSD Sales and Academic catalogs, BEA, etc.
Fall book announcements submitted to Publishers Weekly
Online/social media campaign: Extensive promotion through BOA's website, blog, e-newsletter (7,400+ subscribers), Facebook (6,800+ followers), Twitter (8,000 followers), Instagram (2,200+ followers), and Pinterest (840+ followers) accounts.
Full-page feature in in-house catalog.
E-postcards will be sent to BOA’s academic contacts, reviewer contacts, bookstore contacts, and literary bloggers.
Simultaneous ebook and print publication. Ebook ISBN will be included on all press materials, author and publisher websites, and whenever print ISBN is listed.
The Clifton family is currently working to create the Lucille Clifton House, a literary center for writers at Lucille Clifton’s home in Baltimore, MD. BOA will reach out to the Clifton House for possible events at the soonest opportune moment.
Aracelis Girmay will be the featured poet at BOA’s annual Dine & Rhyme gala in fall 2020. BOA will reach out to libraries, literary centers, and readers in Central & Western New York to promote the event and the collection.
How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton celebrates both familiar and lesser-known works by one of America’s most beloved poets, including 10 newly discovered poems that have never been collected.
These poems celebrating black womanhood and resilience shimmer with intellect, insight, humor, and joy, all in Clifton’s characteristic style—a voice that the late Toni Morrison described as “seductive with the simplicity of an atom, which is to say highly complex, explosive underneath an apparent quietude.” Selected and introduced by award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay, this volume of Clifton’s poetry is simultaneously timeless and fitting for today’s tumultuous moment.
Edited with a Foreword
by Aracelis Girmay
How to Carry Water:
Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton celebrates both familiar and
lesser-known works by one of America’s most beloved poets, including 10 newly
discovered poems that have never been collected. These poems
celebrating black womanhood and resilience shimmer with intellect, insight,
humor, and joy, all in Clifton’s characteristic style—a voice that the late
Toni Morrison described as “seductive with the simplicity of an atom, which is
to say highly complex, explosive underneath an apparent quietude.” Selected and
introduced by award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay, this volume of Clifton’s
poetry is simultaneously timeless and fitting for today’s tumultuous moment.
