Joy in the Belly of a Riot: Poems, Prayers, Memories, and Meditations

The acclaimed poetic force celebrates the practice of poetry as healing and prayer in this vital, life-affirming collection about surviving the void and touching the divine—the second book in a creative collaboration between Amistad and Moore Black Press.

At age fifteen, Barbara Fant tragically lost her mother, and her world was suddenly upended. “I became an angry teenager. I was mad at the world.,” she recalls. “I even stopped praying, but I began to write. Poetry became my way of communication, my way of processing . . . it became my way to pray.”

Rebirth, renewal, and healing are the heart of Joy in the Belly of a Riot. Fant’s monumental collection is a continuation of her lifelong project of using poetry as prayer; this is healing-informed poetry to restore herself, her community, and the world. Exquisitely lyrical and boldly resonant, Fant’s poems excavate the nightmares of a childhood marked by poverty, violence, racism, and the loss of countless loved ones. Suffering seemed endemic to neighborhoods like hers, and yet, in Fant’s own words, “I keep trying to write about the trauma, but the joy won’t let me.”

Steeped in a rich Black Christian tradition and drawing on Scripture for artistic inspiration, Fant’s verse offers solace and guidance for all, from the devout to the skeptical. In these poems Fant demands that we see her, and her community, throug more than our grief. As she closes this profound collection, Fant gently preaches that we choose life and reminds us that “wholeness is our birthright.”

Joy in the Belly of a Riot is a healing balm in times of sustained uncertainty and a rock upon which we can build and sustain a foundation of joy. Fant’s essential message demands to be heard, now more than ever.

Barbara Fant is an acclaimed poet who has been writing and performing for over fifteen years. She has competed in nine National Poetry Slam competitions and placed 8^th out of 96 poets in the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She is the author of two poetry collections: Paint, Inside Out (2010) from Penmanship Books and Mouths of Garden (2022) from Sundress Publications. Her work has been featured in the Academy of American Poets, Electric Literature, McNeese Review, The Ohio State University Press, Button Poetry, and Def Poetry Jam, amongst others. Additionally, she has received residencies in Havana, Cuba and Senegal, West Africa.

Fant’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Language Arts, a Master’s degree in Theological Studies, and a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry. Her entire life has been a blend of both theology and poetry. She initially went to school to be a prison chaplain, and served in a youth prison ministry. Her thesis in seminary was about lyrical theology and using poetics as a way to not just communicate about faith, but to come into an understanding about personal faith. She is also a certified Healing Centered Engagement Specialist.

Fant is the 2009 recipient of the Cora Craig Award for Young Authors from Penmanship Books, was named one of Columbus Alive Magazine’s “People to Watch” in 2017, received the 2017 Trailblazer Award from the Red Zone and the 2017 and 2021 Honored Artist Award from the Arts Foundation of Olde Towne East, was named one of the 2023 “Unstoppable 100 Trailblazing Women & Girls” by Role Model Magazine, and received the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Methodist Theological School of Delaware, Ohio. She has been commissioned by over 20 local and national organizations and has been the inaugural artist-in-residence for three organizations: Harmony Project, Thiossane Institute, and the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. She is the founder of Bloom Life Foundation Inc., the Black Women Rise Poetry Collective, and co-founder of the Senghor Project, West African International Artist Residency.