Hannah V. Sawyerr
Hannah V. Sawyerr is a Sierra Leonean-American poet and story-teller. Her debut novel-in-verse, ALL THE FIGHTING PARTS, told through court transcripts, journal entries, and poetry is forthcoming from Abrams/Amulet in Fall 2023. For Hannah's literary and community involvement, she was recognized as the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore. Her spoken word has been featured on the British Broadcasting Channel's (BBC) "World Have Your Say" program, as well as the National Education Association's "Do You Hear Us" Campaign. Her written word has been featured in several publications such as xoNecole, gal-dem, Sesi Mag and more. Currently, she is the Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Loyola Marymount University and lives in Los Angeles, California.
All the Fighting Parts
Hannah V. Sawyerr
In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, a searing and defiant novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community
Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her tongue as her weapon—even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson. But Pastor Johnson isn’t the holy man everyone thinks he is. The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel: her father is frustrated that her grades are slipping, and her best friend and boyfriend don’t understand why the once loud and proud girl is now quiet and distant. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone's favorite community leader. When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can't hurt her anymore–or so she believes. To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser—in the courtroom and her heart—and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.
Truth Is
Hannah V. Sawyerr
From the critically acclaimed author of All the Fighting Parts comes an empowering and defiant novel in verse in which a teen poet grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and determines what happens to her body in a world that wants to take the choice away from her.
Seventeen-year-old Truth Bangura wants nothing more than to know a life beyond her hometown. Writing and performing is her only solace in a life overwhelmed by a drifting relationship with her best friend, an emotionally turbulent home environment, and the reality that her below average grades make her true dream—escaping her mother’s grasp after graduation—uncertain.
When Truth learns she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, she makes one decision she’s finally sure about: an abortion.
Determined to move forward, Truth turns to the pages in her notebook with the support of her slam poetry team—including the poet with a voice smooth as summer jazz, who’s been catching her eye during practice.
At an open mic night, Truth finally gains the courage to perform a piece that dives into her rocky relationship with her mother–and reveals the choice she never told her. But when a video of Truth’s performance is posted online and starts going viral, her decision quickly becomes everyone’s business–including her mother’s.
Told through searing free-verse, journal entries, and interspersed fill-in-the-blank poetry prompts, Hannah V. Sawyerr’s Truth Is reminds us there is always a choice. There is always hope. And there is always a way forward.
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