Witness: Poems to Address the Past, Present, and Future of Policing
About this ebook
This wide-ranging collection springs from a simple invitation to share stories. It includes contributions from nearly forty poets, including Ada Limón, Jason Reynolds, Erin Entrada Kelly, Danez Smith, and Amanda Gorman. The multifaceted chorus of voices explores experiences and emotions related to policing and over-policing by various law enforcement officers and agencies, touching on everything from the slave trade to an ICE agent killing Renee Good in early 2026. Evocative pieces of artwork by Damon Davis are interspersed, adding additional layers of meaning.
In this deeply moving collection, anthologists and poets Ari Tison and Ty Chapman give readers an opportunity to reflect, to discuss, and above all, to witness.
The complete list of poets includes:
Kauakanilehua Māhoe Adams
D. R. Bernstrom
Fong Li Blessing
Ty Chapman
Kinsale Drake
Margarita Engle
Amanda Gorman
Ronald Greer
Nikki Grimes
Carolyn Holbrook
Kari Anne Holt
Douglas Kearney
Tae Keller
Erin Entrada Kelly
Halee Kirkwood
Michael Kleber-Diggs
Ada Limón
Mariama J. Lockington
W. J. Lofton
Kyle Carrero Lopez
Kekla Magoon
Kyle Tran Myhre
Alice Paige
Junauda Petrus
Bao Phi
Jason Reynolds
Karuna Riazi
Laura Ruby
Aida Salazar
Hannah V. Sawyerr
Ollie Schminkey
Taiwana Shambley
Sun Yung Shin
Danez Smith
Ari Tison
Padma Venkatraman
Jasmine Warga
Kao Kalia Yang
Discover more
About the author
Ari Tison is a Bribri poet and author based in Minnesota. Her YA hybrid poetry & prose novel Saints of the Household (2023) won multiple awards including the 2024 Walter Dean Myers Award and the 2024 Pura Belpré Award; it was also a finalist for the William C. Morris Award. Ari was chosen as a 2023 Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Her poems and short works have been published in numerous national magazines.
Ty Chapman is an award-winning author and poet based in Minnesota. He is the author of many children's books and the poetry collection, Tartarus. Additionally, he co-edited the poetry anthology, Witness, with his friend and collaborator, Ari Tison. He has published poems through The Academy of American Poets, Water~Stone, and more. Ty has received fellowships from The McKnight Foundation, Cave Canem, The Center for Arts + Social Justice, and The Loft Literary Center. He holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults through Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Damon Davis is an award-winning post-disciplinary artist who works and resides in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film, and public art.
