This book contains a beautiful collection of stories & poems. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique work of art!!

This collection of essays, poems, and stories from the African diaspora is stunning. They are pieces that will stay with me. They were thought provoking and so well written.

This is a lovely, diverse and thoroughly enjoyable collection. This is a book you want to take your time with and really savor.

Relations is an anthology of poetry and literature of the African diaspora, and Brew-Hammond has done an excellent job as editor in compiling these wonderful writings. This collections has breadth and depth in tone, style, and form, which makes it such an entertaining delight that has something for every reader. My only complaint (which is not really one) would be that some of the literature excerpts would draw you in as a reader and then end in a way that left you wanting to know the rest of the story, which definitely resulted in me swearing a few times in frustration while also appreciating the Brew-Hammond's cleverness to entice the reader to seek out more of the work from these authors. Even though I was able to enjoy this advance digital copy, I have plans to purchase the physical book since I would be honored to have it amongst my book collection.

Una colección de voces africanas de la diaspora con un propósito en común: descubrir y encontrar nuestra humanidad a pesar de nuestras diferencias incluso dentro de una misma comunidad.

What an honor to be able to read this wonderful anthology of voices from the African diaspora! This book had plethora of voices and stories from all walks of life. The Lagos Wives club was definitely a stand out for me, but this would be a fantastic read for Black History Month for a class or book club.

This is a wonderful collection of stories, poems, and essays from different authors of the African diaspora. They are well written and thought provoking and just very enjoyable! You’ll definitely want to take your time with this anthology! Highly recommended.

I could not finish this book, so I won't be posting any real reviews until I do.

All of the stories I read while attempting to finish this book were all trauma filled and nothing that reflected any type of joy. This book is just a big ball of depression.

Relations by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond is a diverse collection of essays, poems, prose, and stories from African and diaspora writers. Nana writes in her introduction that she felt inspired to curate this collection in order to bring the diaspora closer together. She recalls an interaction, among many similar exchanges, that she had with a Moroccan man at a New York party who did not identify as African. His reasoning was that sub-Saharan Africa and African's northern-most nations are in some way different (a harmful narrative reflecting distancing of darker-skinned Africans to lighter-skinned due to the stigma of slavery). As a result of her experiences and reflections she curated Relations in order to force us all to admit, accept, and acknowledge how deeply connected all of our histories are.

She writes: "There is so much at stake in this admission, relations are rife with the pain of disappointment, compromise, rejection, and exploitation. They are equally have with expectation, hope and obligation. They are pregnant with possibility."

I really enjoyed reading the vastly unique stories about Africans and African-Americans alike who experience a range of challenges both on the continent of Africa and wherever they call home through an Afro-centric lens. Each piece stands on it's own and adds to the overall tapestry of world-building and self-recognizing readers of the diaspora will feel when they visit these pages.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for the e-arc copy!