Loyalty is super psyched to welcome Rachel Long and Raymond Antrobus to celebrate My Darling From the Lions! This event will be held digitally via Crowdcast. Click here to register for the event with a donation of any amount of your choice or you can order the book from our website to be added to the event's registration list. Donations will go to BLM DC. There will also be an option to snag the book during the event. ASL Interpreting will be available during the event.

A NYLON and ESSENCE Best Book of the Month

“Rachel Long has miraculous command of the line, in all its trickery and grace and gasps, showcasing a truly refreshing voice with observant, deeply felt insight.” —Morgan Parker, author of Magical Negro

Named a Best Poetry Book of 2020 by The Guardian

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Costa Poetry Award, and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection

Each poem in Rachel Long’s award-winning My Darling from the Lions has a vivid story to tell—of family quirks, the perils of dating, the grip of religion, or sexual awakening—stories that are, by turn, emotionally insightful, politically conscious, wise, funny, and outrageous. Told in three sections, it’s a book about growing up, falling in love with not-great men, and girlhood; a collection that speaks to femininity, divinity, familial shame, Black identity, and modern culture.

Long reveals herself as a razor-sharp and original voice on the issues of sexual politics and cultural inheritance that polarize our current moment. With a fresh commitment to the power of the individual poem, her collection offers immediate, wide-awake poetry that entertains royally, without sacrificing a note of its urgency or remarkable skill.

My Darling from the Lions marks the arrival of a thrilling new voice and presence in poetry.

Rachel Long is a poet and the founder of Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour, which is housed at Southbank Centre in London. My Darling from the Lions, first published by Picador in 2020, is her debut collection. She was born in London, and resides there today.

Raymond Antrobus is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection All The Names Given (Tin House, Nov 9). His debut collection, The Perseverance, won the Ted Hughes Award, the Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Somerset Maugham Award, and was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, among others. Born in London, Raymond is currently based between London and New Orleans.

Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during this virtual event.

Rachel Long and Raymond Antrobus for MY DARLING FROM THE LIONS