Author’s Maryland Roots Inspire Poetry Collection

“Kin: Rooted in Hope,” a poetry collection by Maryland’s Carole Boston Weatherford was recently chosen by Maryland Humanities as the 2025 One Maryland One Book selection. The collection, which features art by her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, is a combination of history, art, and personal genealogy, depicting Weatherford’s search for her family tree, leading her to ancestors who also happened to be some of Maryland’s founders.

The collection explores the personas of the Weatherfords’ ancestors, from experiences on the Wye House Plantation in Talbot County through the Civil War and into the 20th century.  Maryland locations feature prominently throughout the book, many the subject of their own poems, including the Chesapeake Bay, the port of Oxford, Fort McHenry, and the Wye River, where Wye House plantation sits.

In addition to being chosen as the Coretta Scott King Honor Book,“Kin: Rooted in Hope” is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Poetry Award Winner. The selection committee that chose the 2025 One Maryland One Book with a theme of “What We Collect / What We Tell” included Maryland teachers, scholars, librarians, writers, booksellers, and community workers. 

Maryland Humanities will be staging programming that invites readers to explore histories of African Americans, of Maryland, and their families. Stay tuned for Maryland Humanities’ announcement of its 2025 Author Tour, coming later  this summer. A calendar of free public events, including Maryland Humanities annual Author Tour and VIP Reception, is available Via Maryland Humanities social media platforms. Get started at https://www.instagram.com/mdhumanities/.

 — OutLook by the Bay