In her latest collection, poet Morgan Parker drops this unforgettable line: “My body is an argument I did not start.” Positioned as a counter to the problematic “magical negro” trope so prevalent in film, wherein a black character is used to help or save a white character’s soul, Morgan instead finds magic in the daily existence of black people. She mines the nuanced joys and injustices inherent to black life, dismantling long-held stereotypes in the process.
Buy now: Magical Negro