Teaching While Black

Teaching While Black

By Matthew Henry

Released February 4, 2020

A riveting debut from poet-educator MEH, Teaching While Black is an honest, relentless portrait of the contemporary American classroom. MEH is in conversation with the past masters of American literature: Baldwin, Brooks, DuBois, Hughes, Morrison, and, behind them, the bloody thoughts of Shakespeare himself. But it is Rilke whose words best sum up this collection: "here there is no place / that does not see you. You must change your life."

MEH is Matthew E. Henry, a multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet and short story writer, and author of  Teaching While Black (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2020); not to be confused with the long dead, white theologian (but he was cool too). MEH is an educator whose career has found him teaching English, education, philosophy, and sociology at the high school, college, and graduate levels. He will most likely die in a classroom. His writing shines a black-light on the bed of relationships, race, religion, and everything else you’re not supposed to discuss in polite company. He received his MFA from Seattle Pacific University, yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing a MA in theology and a PhD in education.