American Scapegoat - Available Now
(2023)
American Scapegoat is a book of painstakingly honest and chilling poems about America’s neglectful relationship with its own history. At the core of this reluctance to frame the past in its proper context is the fraudulent and fraught mythology that Black people are what America needs to be protected from. This extremely damaging narrative has been prominently embedded within the socio-political framework of American culture and continues to play an inescapably significant role in the Black experience in America. This timely collection looks both to the past and the future, and fosters a deeply essential conversation about what it means to be Black and American in a democracy at war with itself and its humanity.
Where We Stand: Poems of Black Resilience
(2022)
"This anthology is the official answer for how we/us survived the apex of multiple pandemics. With recipes for survival like Tara Betts’ “Stay Lit” and ol’ school incantations illuminating truths like Kenneth Carroll’s “This Muvfucka,” we marry ourselves to the future, without ever once forgetting what Lisa Pegram says, “Even a sponge has a saturation point.” Part declaration of not dependent, part sacred text, this collection is both who we are and how we shall continue to be—all in the same breath."
- Frank X. Walker, author of Masked Man, Black: Pandemic & Protest Poems and Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers.
Order from Cherry Castle Publishing
When My Body Was A Clinched Fist
(July 2020, Black Lawrence Press)
Winner of the 21st Annual Massachusetts Book Award
WHEN MY BODY WAS A CLINCHED FIST is a book that addresses the effects of social violence on a young boy’s mind and the consequent physical toll it takes on his body. At the heart of the collection is the metamorphosis of trauma from different acts of violence, some witnessed firsthand, and the struggle to make sense of the world in its aftermath. Set in the borough of Queens, New York, each poem is unrelenting in its depiction of the body as a fist and a young boy’s decade-long clinch for survival.
Order from » BLACK LAWRENCE PRESS
or your local indie bookstore or preferred online retailer.
Cover Image "When I Ruled the World" by Carlos Rancaño
A Letter of Resignation: An American Libretto
(chapbook, 2017)
A Letter of Resignation is a meditation on American history informed by the Black experience in the United States and neighboring island republics. This musically-infused libretto is addressed to History as a Republic, in which certain moments and individuals have been vetted and elected to convey a message that consistently denigrates more than it celebrates what it is to be American Black. Part Blues, part Jazz, part Hip-Hop, this book-length poem is a sound declaration from a tired, fed-up generation.
Order today from Central Square Press
The Next Verse Poets Mixtape - Volume One: the 4X4
(2016)
featuring: Melanie Henderson, Fred Joiner, Lisa Pegram & Enzo Silon Surin
THE NEXT VERSE POETS MIXTAPE is a poetry sampler of ethnographic significance. 4 poets represented by 4 poems each offer insight into the shared experiences of black Americans in today’s political and social climate. Poems such as “Notes to a Little Black Boy”, “Seven Ways of Looking at Black Flowers”, and “How to Nullify a Super Hero” speak loudly about negotiating the delicate promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In addition, poems like “Lamb & Vodka”, “Drum Lesson”, “Nostalgia”, and “Once, When We Were Not Gods” highlight place and its lingering presence in our beings in ways that are akin to us all. These poems, both layered and plain, coax reverence as each poet explores the intricacies of the familiar.
Order from Central Square Press or Amazon.com
Poetry Readings
Surin's work is the recipient of several poetry prizes and has been described as "powerful, compelling"; "bold, necessary" and "poetry that matters."
Speaking Engagements
Surin is passionate about building up individuals in order that they can achieve their life purpose. He has been a featured keynote at colleges & universities, literary festivals, and more.
Writing Workshops
Whether working with youth and community organizations, the incarcerated, or in higher education classrooms, Surin's poetry workshops help to develop and hone skills at any level of experience.