2025 National Book Award Finalist The striking sophomore poetry collection from the award-winning author of the "beautiful, vulnerable, honest" (Ross Gay, New York Times bestselling author) I Can't Talk About the Trees Without the Blood. Dive between the borders of ruined and radical love with this lyrical poetry collection that explores topics as expansive as divorce, the first Black Bachelorette, and the art world. Stanzas shift between reverence to irreverence as they take us on a journey through institutional and historical pains alongside sensuality and queer, Black joys. From a generational voice that "earns a place among the pantheon of such emerging black poets as Eve L. Ewing, Nicole Sealey, and Airea D. Matthews" (Booklist, starred review), Scorched Earth is a transcendent anthology for our times.