On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Cole Erickson interviews poet Deshawn McKinney. The Milwaukee poet is out with his debut chapbook father forgive me (Black Sunflowers Poetry Press, 2021). It’s a collection described as “an acerbic hip hop hymnal” filled with “fearless, wounding and tender” poems.

About the guest: 

Deshawn McKinney is a writer and poet out of Milwaukee and currently lives in Madison. His poetry has appeared in multiple journals, including River Heron Review as a poetry prize-winner.

He’s a graduate of UW-Madison, where he earned a degree in creative writing while participating in the First Wave hip-hop arts community there.

He also holds a Masters in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Master in Creative Writing – Poetry from the University of East Anglia.