We are flesh born of flesh, yet still divine. Our parents' best and worst laced like poetry along our vertebrae. Our ancestors' prayers made human. Made soul. Made life. We are born of and into a community of power that has existed since the beginning of time. Cotton is a short collection of poetry that encapsulates all of these emotions through the lens of Najya A. Williams, a young, Afro Caribbean woman born and raised in Chocolate City. Hinged on three critical time periods, Cotton transcends the superficial and delves deep into wounds infected with prejudice, racism, pain, and heartache. Get settled in and stay for a while: this is only the beginning."Cotton is a refreshing collection capturing both the essence and struggle of black womanhood but marrying these experiences with new and old age experiences of race. Williams' fluid but pointed words exude not just descriptions of experiences but the raw and in many cases unexposed feelings and emotions that accompany experiences of black womanhood and race. Any and all should pick up this read to not only reminisce and find a speckle of oneself sewn in each page, but also to experience and participate in the raw and needed exposure of blackness, womanhood and plain old life and how this impacts mental wellness and healthiness. A must read for all!"-Lauren Carson, Executive Director/Founder Black Girls Smile Inc."Let me start off by saying that even the highest expectations I had for this book were blown out of the water. This is amazing. I was so impressed by the way you easily and expertly switch between voices and characters. There were times when I could hear the Najya I know reading the poems out to me (even some of the ones I had never heard before). There were other times where you seamlessly and effortlessly transported me to a completely different time and place, and I felt like I was reading an excerpt from a journal or listening into a prayer."-Tatiana Patino, Harvard College"The way [Najya] pieces together words on paper to create a dance on your tongue and an ache in your heart is divine and one of a kind. How she found all the right words for this moment in time, I will never know. Read it [Cotton]. You will feel in your physical body a range of emotions you never knew you had, and know by the end of it, you will feel like you have found a sister. I have read and re-read, gifted, cried over, healed, and gleamed empathy through works from a very select group [of] women of color poets: Claudia Rankine, Rupi Kaur, Sarah Kay, and Warsan Shire. Today, to my delight, I have added [Najya] Williams to this group of incredible and unapologetic sisters."-Sarah Hsu, The Milken Scholars Program
About the Author: Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Najya Williams is an undergraduate at Harvard College in Cambridge, MA. She aims to pursue a career in Pediatric and Neonatal Medicine. A youth advocate and social activist, Najya has committed to participating in numerous poetry and spoken word driven events to shed light on issues present in her community that many consider taboo. She was recently recognized by The Harvard Foundation and The Black Men's Forum for the work she has cultivated and continues to maintain within the Black community on Harvard's campus. Najya looks ahead to continue making a difference in not only her community, but the nation as a whole, one word at a time. Follow Najya's work as a scholar, writer, and activist via: Twitter/Instagram: @NajyaTheAuthor SoundCloud: "The Invitation" by Najya Website: najyawilliams.com