The Tradition is a collection of poems written by Pulitzer Prize winner, Jericho Brown. it was published on 2 April 2019 by Copper Canyon Press. It is Brown’s third collection, following on from his book, The New Testament (2004).
The poems cover multiple topics including, religion and faith, race and identity, homosexuality and fatherhood. The main purpose of the collection is to provide an outlook of what it means to normalize evil within our society and community - Brown questions the aftereffects of such a life, including the impact on one’s safety and freedom. Brown also delves further into the violence against black people, and the superiority of white people throughout history. Brown further touches upon the repression of homosexual feelings that lead to aggression and violence.
The book was extremely well received by critics, with Rita Dove of the New York Times Magazine calling it "A relentless dismantling of identity, a difficult jewel of a poem." The book also won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and was listed as Buzzfeed’s "66 Books Coming in 2019 You'll Want to Keep Your Eyes On."
