Local Instagram poet, Tahirah Baker is releasing a first-run print of her newly published poetry collection Bark & Ink on September 19th, 2020.

Bark & Ink is a carefully curated collection of poetry which draws from Baker’s personal growth experiences. Many of her readers resonate with her words and are drawn to them through the simplicity of her stanzas. “It started out as a simple Instagram project really,” says Baker. “I write everyday, through car rides, after the shower, before I go to sleep – whatever I’m feeling I write it out, and it tends to rhyme. A year or so later and the book was a natural progression to what I’d initially started – a sort of thank you not only to myself, but to my readers for coming this far along the journey with me.” 

Bark & Ink is available for purchase worldwide through major booksellers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble (US), and Waterstones (UK). The book is divided into three parts reflective of the three stages of growth, which is the central theme. Seeds, Roots, and Shoots take readers through childhood traditions and traumas, before battling adolescence and finally, navigating the more mature waters of love and independence. Baker embraces the good, bad, and the ugly of this process, and summarises her work as “a dictionary of God, love and grief.”

“I couldn’t put it down,” one reader shared, “Finished reading…and feel like I’ve read something very private, beautiful, sad, warm and relatable in parts…” whilst another quotes – “I feel this. Thank you for putting this into words.”

Bark & Ink was published in the UK by New Generation Publishing, affiliate company of award-winning independent book publisher Legend Press, on July 6th, 2020. It will become available for purchase in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on September 19th 2020 at Crate.

Hear more author updates by following @barkandink on Instagram or visit tahirahbaker.com