“masterwork”
“debut triumph”
Ten Best Books 2019
Beltway Poetry Quarterly
Gold Winner 2020
Diversity Poetry Human Relations Indie Book
Finalist
Balcones Poetry Prize 2020
Cider Press Review Book Award 2017
Eric Hoffer Poetry Book Award 2020
Jean Feldman Poetry Prize 2018
“a riveting read”
The Ocean Cannot be Blue is the personal story of how place and history changed the poet’s life. Set in context of the geological formation of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s rivers, the broader context of early America and race-based law, to the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case, the poet shares introspection on the timeline of change that made possible her mixed-race marriage and family life in Virginia. The collection entwines themes of the deep strength of women in preservation and progress, earth’s beauty against the construct of legislative and social barriers, and the role of human differences in the continuing conversation of the civic whole. With backdrops of John Wilkes Booth to Hurricane Isabel, the poet shares painful, joyous, humbling and humorous detail on life with her family, while she shapes a vision for societal transcendence and greater trust in one another.
“The Ocean Cannot Be Blue is a testament to history made better by poetry. Exploring the case of an interracial legal battle, Hampton has written a literary and historic masterwork. With virtuosity, Hampton guides her threads through a complex tapestry of narrative and factual data, making a riveting read about profound humanistic issues. Hampton has written a definitive document with poetic power. Skill, lyricism, invention — this debut book is a triumph.”
Grace Cavalieri
“The Poet and the Poem” from the Library of Congress
“Kirsten Hampton’s significant achievement in this beautiful book is to create a deeply personal, entirely original and persuasive perspective on our country’s intractable problem of racism. She weaves a mesmerizing web of geological and historical time and record, watercourses and watersheds, and legal documentation, all of which combine with wonderfully poetic grace to create a beautiful argument. This is a distinctive, profound, impressive debut collection.”
Sidney Wade
Professor Emerita, University of Florida
President, Association of Writing Programs, 2006-07