A Louisville Poets Anthology edited by
Louisville native and acclaimed Horsepower author Joy Priest.
Conceived in the aftermath of city-wide
protests in 2020, Once a City Said showcases the polyvocal communities
of Louisville, Kentucky, a city celebrated for its bourbon, basketball, and
horseracing, but long fraught with racial injustice, police corruption, and
social unrest.
Priest
takes the city’s narrative out of the mouths of politicians, news anchors, and
police chiefs, and puts it into the mouths of poets. What emerges is an
intimate report of a city misshapen by segregation, tourism, and ruptures in
the public trust. Featuring thirty-seven acclaimed and emerging poets—including
Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Erin Keane, Ryan Ridge, and Hannah L. Drake—Once a
City Said archives the traditions and icons, the landmarks and spirits, the
portraits and memories of Derby City.
This publication is supported by individual donors who gave to the 2021 Fund for the Arts ArtsMatch campaign. Matching funds were made possible by Fund for the Arts in partnership with LG&E and KU Foundation.
