“A collection of masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence.” - Pulitzer Prize Committee, 2020

“By some literary magic?no, it’s precision, and honesty - Brown manages to bestow upon even the most public of subjects the most intimate and personal stakes.” - Craig Morgan Teicher, NPR

“A relentless dismantling of identity, a difficult jewel of a poem.“ - Rita Dove, The New York Times Magazine

“This is a truly wonderful book. These emotions and history Jericho shares are much needed in these times. A truly talented young poet.” - Nikki Giovanni

“Winner of a Whiting Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Brown’s hard-won lyricism finds fire (and idyll) in the intersection of politics and love for queer Black men.” - O, The Oprah Magazine

“The poems of The Tradition, Brown’s third collection, are at turns tender and vulnerable, severe and riveting.” - Los Angeles Review of Books

“Pure artistry imbues nearly every line of this unsparing yet subtly delicate third collection from the masterly Brown, fusing the personal, political, erotic, and philosophical.” - Library Journal, “Best Poetry 2019”

“Jericho Brown’s The Tradition pays off on the first page (which opens with “Ganymede,” in which he reimagines the Greek myth: “I mean, don’t you want God / to want you?”) and just keeps on giving… As I read, I became a Jericho Brown fan for life. Writing is good words in good order; poetry is the best words in the best order. Brown’s words are in the best order possible.” - Vox

“Jericho Brown’s poetry collection called The Tradition is just an absolutely stunning book. He’s such a gorgeous mature poet, just beautiful and challenging.” - Lisa Lucas, New York Magazine