A project of the Poverty Initiative (now Kairos Center), which is housed at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Out of the Depths: Poetry of Poverty—Courage and Resilience is a compelling anthology of over one hundred poems by well-known poets (such as Martin Espada, Naomi Shihab Nye, Gregory Orr, Marilyn Nelson, Wesley McNair, Brendan Galvin, Julia Alverez, Natasha Tretheway, and Kevin Young) as well as emerging poets and those never before published about firsthand experiences of poverty.
While the poets hail from diverse locations, cultures, and ethnicities, their work shares common elements of vivid detail, determination of spirit (either quiet or passionate), and compelling artistry.