Heirloom - Paperback

by Ashia Ajani (Author)

Ashia Ajani's Heirloom stands as a poetic homage to the profound legacy of her family's migration journey - a path traversing from Bentonia, Mississippi to Detroit, Michigan, and finally to Denver, Colorado.

Against the backdrop of urban landscapes and amidst the vibrant hues of urban gardens, resilience emerges as their cornerstone. Persisting through fragmentation and reuniting with a shared collection of stories, recipes, and ancestral wisdom, their journey becomes a testament to the resilience born from both nature and human spirit.

Ajani's contemplation on inheritance as a gift meant for generations to come leads her to go into the realms of environmental responsibility, grappling with the imperative of responding to the ever-evolving climate crisis.

With a profound respect for the unspoken threads that connect us and a relentless pursuit of newfound freedoms, Heirloom constructs worlds from the very ashes, an embodiment of the enduring strength passed down through generations.

Author Biography

Ashia is a storyteller and environmental educator born and raised in Denver, CO, unceded territory of the Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Ute peoples. Writing as a queer Black femme, Ashia works to preserve, interrogate and imagine how the Black diaspora has shaped and continues to shape land stewardship in the Western hemisphere. Ashia has been published in Sierra Magazine, Alice Magazine, The Journal, Sage Magazine, Them.us, and The Hopper Literary Magazine, among others. Ashia released a first chapbook, We Bleed Like Mango , in October of 2017. Their debut full length poetry collection, Heirloom , was published in Spring 2023 with Write Bloody Publishing.