This Is Not a Small Interview: A Traci N. Todd Talk About This Is Not a Small Voice

Children’s poetry is such a fascinating genre to follow closely. From a publishing perspective, the push is often to get books out before April (Poetry Month). Yet in spite of that imperative, there are a fair number of books that don’t come out until well after April showers. This year, for example, I’ve been impressed by such titles as Black Diamond Kings by Charles R. Smith Jr., ill. Adrian Brandon (May 6th), Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson, ill. Dustin Harbin (Sept 30), Nightmare Jones by Sarah Brannen, ill. Cindy Derby (October 7th), and Where the Deer Slip Through by Katey Howes, ill. Beth Krommes (June 3rd).

Enter This Is Not a Small Voice: Poems by Black Poets. Written by Traci N. Todd and illustrated by Jade Orlando, this book (out September 30th) falls into that set, but it has a distinct advantage of its own. Today, Traci N. Todd herself has come to answer some questions about her lovely collection. Or, as the publisher put it:

“Discover classic favorites and new stars. This gorgeously illustrated children’s anthology is the perfect introduction to poets such as Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, Benjamin Zephaniah, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, Amanda Gorman, Caleb Femi, and Joseph Coelho, and also features brand-new work by poets Nikki Grimes, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others.

Lovingly compiled by award-winning picture book writer and editor Traci N. Todd, this collection touches on a wide range of themes-hope and struggle, joy and pride, home and food, music and family. Each poem is paired with vibrant, inviting illustrations by Jade Orlando.”

Questions! For Traci! Let’s go!

---

Betsy Bird: Traci! Thank you so much for talking to us about THIS IS NOT A SMALL VOICE and your work on it today. Yours is not the first collection of Black poetry for kids out there, so tell us a bit about the impetus for creating this book and what it is that makes it special. And where did this collection come from?

Traci N. Todd: Betsy! Thank you for having me. It’s an honor to chat with you again.

Publisher Nosy Crow invited me to create this collection for them, and from the moment they asked, I had a vision for it. I knew the book had to be accessible for children. I also wanted it to have a point of view, to be specifically Black (as much as I could manage in 100 poems), and to be honest. In the moment, “A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay came to mind as the best example of all those things. That poem is beautiful and heartbreaking, and true without being graphic or traumatizing. I knew I would have to explain who Eric Garner is, was, for children, but the power of that poem stands on its own. I guess that’s the heart of it—I wanted this book to be powerful, in all the many senses of that word. In a way, “A Small Needful Fact” became the centerpiece.

BB: In your introduction to the book you mention how your own life, personally, has been directly tied into poems and poetry, literally from birth onwards. Did you include any poems in this book that had personal meaning for you when you were young?

Traci: Only one: “The Emancipation of George-Hector (A Colored Turtle)” by Mari Evans. I love that poem, especially the use of the word “langorous.” So much richness in so few lines.

Two poems I remember vividly from childhood are “Harriet Tubman” by Eloise Greenfield and “Booker T. and W.E.B.” by Dudley Randall. In the end, they didn’t quite fit the narrative I wanted to tell, though the book does touch on enslavement and civil rights. Another poem that was significant but didn’t make the cut was “I Am a Black Woman” also by Mari Evans. It was one of my dad’s favorites and, as a civil rights activist, he often worked it into his speeches. Aside from needing more context than I had room to provide, the poem’s message about Black women as a source of renewal, strong enough to withstand it all, is not one I’m entirely comfortable with. That’s just too much weight. However, I did take some inspiration from the poem for my introduction.

BB: Tell us a little bit about the selections. You’ve an embarrassment of riches before you and yet you could only include so many poems. You made a point too to solicit new poems alongside old ones. How did you make your selection of those older poems and why did you choose the poets you did for the new ones?

Traci: I wanted the poems to tell a story, one that begins and ends with dreaming. Another way to look at it is that the book begins and ends with hope. The first poem, “The Dream Keeper” by Langston Hughes is about protecting our dreams from “the too rough fingers of the world.” The rest of the book is dispatches from the world—rough and otherwise—until it’s time to sleep and dream again. The big themes are food, family, beauty, joy, and truth. Somewhere in the middle when things get a little intense, we reset the day and start again with poems about morning. And everywhere along the way are poems about the glory of being Black.

In terms of the new poems, honestly, I chose folks from my circle who deserve more recognition as poets.

Betsy Bird: In your intro you note your limitations and say (and I love this), “What’s missing? Who’s missing? Can you fill in the gaps?” I wish more collections and compendiums had the guts to ask that. Was this something you intended to say from the book’s inception or did you add that language later in the process?

Traci: That language was there from the very beginning. I knew I wanted the book to be about Blackness and that Blackness cannot be contained. Not by 100 poems, not by anything. The diaspora extends far, far, beyond the English-speaking world, but the book is limited by my own unilingualism. The book is a reflection of my tastes—if anyone else had curated this book, it would likely have a very different point of view. I knew I couldn’t include poems that weren’t written down, or ones written in English with metaphor too arcane to easily understand (looking at you, Phyllis Wheatley), and on, and on, and on… As soon as I got comfortable with all that, I was free. But it was important to me to invite readers into the process, and to acknowledge these limitations before getting to the wonder of this specific book.

BB: You notably don’t limit your focus to American poets alone. Why was it important to you to look beyond American borders to find poems for this book?

Traci: One reason was practical. Nosy Crow is based in England with a branch in the U.S., and the book is being published in both countries simultaneously. At the very least, I had to touch on both the Black American and Black British experiences which, in many ways, are very different. More than that, I wanted to tell as multitudinous a story as I could. And I wanted as many children as possible to recognize their experiences, and the experiences of their own families.

BB: We’re living in times when books by BIPOC creators are banned with swift and sure injustice. Into this pushback against DEI and inclusion comes your book. Why is now the right time for THIS IS NOT A SMALL VOICE to find its young audience?

Traci: I don’t really subscribe to the “now more than ever” line of thinking. In the United States especially, but not exclusively, books by Black authors have always been in this fight. Ever since enslavers tried to prevent us from speaking our native languages and practicing our indigenous beliefs, ever since laws were passed making it illegal for enslaved people learn to read and write, the public expression of our art has been subject to the whims of power. But we have never stopped creating. In many ways, this book is a testament to that.

Black writers are subversive. And we are steady. So in 2020, when the publishing pendulum swung in our favor again (as with the New Negro Movement, the Black Arts Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, etc.), I would be surprised if any Black American authors believed it would stay there. I imagine we hardly looked up from writing.

Beyond all that, I would argue that in the Western literary tradition, poetry is still largely associated with whiteness. But the history of Black poetry is long, rich, and expansive. Children need to know that Black poets spit bars and write epigrams and sonnets. I hope this book becomes part of that conversation.

We know that when children see themselves in books and read stories that feel familiar, they’re reminded that they matter. When they see who writes those stories, those poems, that validation goes even deeper. I hope This Is Not a Small Voice shows readers that Black poets have always been here, even when they’re hard to find. And we aren’t going anywhere.

BB: Tell me a little about the art of Jade Orlando, which appears in this book. Were you aware of Jade’s work prior to pairing with her? How do you feel her work gels with your selections?

Traci: I was aware of Jade’s work, but I didn’t know it well. I’m so glad that’s no longer true! Even when the poems are a little bit heavy, Jade’s illustrations bring the light. They ground the book in joy and give it so much heart. This Is Not a Small Voice would not be the gorgeous object it is without Jade. I’m honored to be her partner in this project.

BB: Finally, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

Traci: There’s so much going on! In April 2026 I have a picture book coming with Loveis Wise called Hello, Beautiful. It’s a love letter to Black children that I wrote in the wake of 2020. I have another picture book coming soon with Vashti Harrison called That You Are Here Is No Small Thing, about how wondrous it is that Black American children are here, given all their ancestors had to survive. I have a picture book about Paul Robeson, one about “Soul Train,” and another about the “Star-Spangled Banner” (song and flag) coming in the near future. And I’m trying to write a novel—historical fiction, natch.

In my other life, I’m an editor (have been for nearly 30 years). I’m currently freelancing for First Second, editing John Patrick Green’s InvestiGATORS books. I’m also writing my first graphic novel for First Second’s History Comics series!

Finally, I’m curating a museum exhibit about a Black cartoonist (not Jackie Ormes!) that’s in such early stages I can’t really talk about it. But I’m so excited!

---

Dear. God. I don’t know about you, but just hearing Traci mention all the things she’s up to these days has me exhausted.

Huge thanks to her for her incredible and in-depth explanations. Thanks too to Avery Cook and the team at Nosy Crow for helping to put all this together. This Is Not a Small Voice: Poems by Black Poets is, as we say, out September 30th. Look for it and read yourself some poetry. And not JUST in April too!

Filed under: Interviews