Before We Gone by Malachi Byrd is a ruthlessly loving depiction of childhood and early maturity in Washington, D.C. Tony Keith described, “Before We Gone positions anger beside humor and pedagogy between prayer, carrying a promise that poetry is both love and liberation.”  Malachi Byrd is the former youth Poet Laureate of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of Princeton University. A full-time artist, the author has taught in over 100 schools in the DMV. Cover art for the book is by Terence Nicholson.