Golden Ax

A groundbreaking collection of poetry from Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and New York Times bestselling author Rio Cortez.

From a visionary writer praised for her captivating work on Black history and experience, a poetry collection exploring personal, political, and artistic frontiers, journeying from her family's history as "Afropioneers" in the American West to shimmering glimpses of transcendent, liberated futures.



In poems that range from wry, tongue-in-cheek observations about contemporary life to more nuanced meditations on her ancestors-some of the first Black pioneers to settle in the western United States after reconstruction-Golden Ax invites readers to tore-imagine the West, Black womanhood, and the legacies that shape and sustain the pursuit of freedom.