Brandon Douglas
Story Coach
Brandon Douglas, a product of the land known as Washington, DC, began writing raps when he was 12. He later fused poetry and hip-hop to form his secret weapon as a tool of self-expression. Since then, he has opened for Maxwell and the late Gil Scott Heron, and graced stages at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Phillips Collection, and Howard Theatre. With his artistry, he works to guide others toward positivity, encouraging them to strive to be whole. He is constantly working to grow as an artist as well as a person so that others may be moved to do the same.
Brandon Douglas coached the writers of:
Available for preorder — product will ship Oct 27 2026
By the young writers of Shout Mouse Press
"The poems and essays in Stubborn Roots have changed me in ways I was unprepared for. The profundity of their observations of the world, and of themselves, left me in awe. This is a special book filled with special writers." —Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed
This powerful anthology illuminates today’s activist experience through the poetry and essays of our most vital and essential youth.
Through compelling poetry, 18 young writers of color plant their resistance in the soil of our uncertain future. They tackle disparities across lines of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, ableism and fatphobia, immigration and the environment, and more. Their poems are accompanied by portraits of each poet (by cover artist Sobia Ahmad) along with first-person essays on what liberation means to them.
Diverse voices and styles shine throughout Stubborn Roots, providing personal and cultural context to ongoing conversations about change in the United States. Tender and green, vulnerable and wondrous, this singular book of poems serves as an urgent call to the transformative power of art and is a must-have for young readers looking to develop their connection to social justice.
Foreword by Camonghne Felix, author of Let the Poets Govern.
ISBN: 9781950807901
Age: 12+
Page Count: 220
Coming Fall 2026