{"product_id":"essex-hemphill-take-care-of-your-blessings-9798986272542","title":"Essex Hemphill: Take Care of Your Blessings","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExploring the interdisciplinary relationship between the writings of the queer, Black poet and activist Essex Hemphill and contemporary visual art\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccompanying the eponymous exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, \u003ci\u003eEssex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings\u003c\/i\u003e explores the interdisciplinary relationship between Hemphill's writing--raw, politically charged and deeply personal--and contemporary visual art. Titled after Hemphill's personal signature, \u003ci\u003eTake care of your blessings\u003c\/i\u003e traces his relationships with and influences on visual artists who, like Hemphill, created genre-defying works that explore race, culture, community, gender, sexuality and the experience of living with and losing loved ones to HIV\/AIDS. This publication features ephemera, photographs and archival materials alongside personal reflections from Hemphill's friends and collaborators and essays that trace the dynamic poet's life, work and impact on a generation of artists.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeatured artists include: \u003c\/b\u003e Diedrick Brackens, Sharon Farmer, Lyle Ashton Harris, Isaac Julien, Clifford Prince King, Glenn Ligon, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Richard Bruce Nugent, Shikeith, Joyce Wellman.\u003cbr\u003eRaised in Washington, DC, \u003cb\u003eEssex Hemphill\u003c\/b\u003e (1957-95) was a poet, performer, editor and activist who emerged as a luminary in the DC arts scene in the 1980s and 1990s. His poetry challenged societal norms and bridged the worlds of literature and visual art. While Hemphill died of AIDS-related illness at just 38, his work persists, reflected in visual dialogues with his contemporaries and inheritors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Phillips Collection\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/26\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798986272542\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.94h x 8.50w x 0.63d","brand":"Essex Hemphill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51580997435573,"sku":"9798986272542","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_72c039de-bfbb-4ad2-9479-4804f61cb6b9.jpg?v=1755619092","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/essex-hemphill-take-care-of-your-blessings-9798986272542","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}