Red Emma’s

Dubbed as a popular social media hashtag, one commemorating millennials celebrating their 23rd year of life, poet and writer Wallace Lane put a spin on the term “Jordan Year” and wrote an honest reflection about his journey of growing up in West Baltimore-- a journey in his case like an in depth mixtape, beginning with the birth of his son and rewinding as far back to the 90’s where monumental milestones and struggles could only be told from the mouth and lenses of a black boy in urban America. Jordan Year is a big step for writer and poet Wallace Lane, as it’s the author’s first book; it’s self-published and in some weaving in-and-out-method-of-narration, between his life and other black boys he has mentored and taught in Baltimore City; it’s auto-biographical. It’s a collection of poetry that holds a certain significance for Wallace, one he explains in the poem Jordan Year which analyzes and nuances his father’s experience of fatherhood in the grit of the 90’s: He was a young man then, 23 years young, his Jordan Year, he barely knew what his life meant to himself or his family. New York Times Best Selling Author D. Watkins says,”...some poems are painful, razor sharp and challenging, while others are both delicate and hilarious. There is a journey on each page.” And poet and University of Baltimore professor Steven Leyva says,” Both Baltimore and black masculinity are caught up in the glow of this collection.” Wallace is working steadily on his second collection of poetry, but for now he is still basking in what this collection means to him and his community. Join Wallace as he reads from his book and offers visual interpretations for each poem.