2019 National Book Award Longlist A poetic exploration of trauma, healing, and survival from award-winning poet Camonghne Felix. This is about what grows through the wreckage. This is an anthem of survival and a look at what might come after. A view of what floats and what, ultimately, sustains. Build Yourself a Boat, an innovative debut by award-winning poet Camonghne Felix, interrogates generational trauma, the possibility of healing, and the messiness of survival. Build Yourself a Boat redefines the language of collective and individual trauma through lyric and memory.