Enter to win MOUNTED: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation!

Enter to win MOUNTED: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation! To enter the contest, fill out the form below between Friday, September 5 and Friday, September 26. USA residents only, please.

Esteemed essayist and art critic Bitter Kalli is set to release MOUNTED: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation (on sale August 19, 2025; Amistad; $22), a compelling and thought-provoking collection of essays that probes the shared history of Blackness and horses. Drawing on their personal experiences as a former urban equestrian and the child of Jamaican and Filipino immigrants, Kalli examines the horse as a profound symbol of power and identity in Black life.

Through a series of essays that alternate between playful and critical, MOUNTED explores the work of prominent Black artists and cultural figures-including Beyonce and Lil Nas X-as well as Kalli's own intimate relationship with horses. Navigating diverse themes such as race, nationhood, colonial history, and culture, Kalli weaves a narrative that breaks away from stereotypes of equestrian elitism and whiteness. Instead, MOUNTED reveals how Black individuals have reclaimed and redefined equine and cowboy imagery as instruments of creativity, resilience, and community-building.

The collection reflects on Kalli's unique perspective as the only Black member of the equestrian team at Columbia University and their upbringing in Brooklyn, where they first discovered their love for horses at a small, diverse urban stable. Kalli also poignantly interrogates the darker side of equestrianism, tracing connections to slavery, militarization, and systemic anti-Blackness. Key moments examine how cultural representations of horses have revealed complex dynamics of power, labor, and racial hierarchy in American society.

Rich with cultural references and timely analysis, MOUNTED situates itself in the growing movement of Black creatives who are reimagining the cowboy narrative and equestrian symbolism. Kalli boldly probes questions of violence, sexualization, migration, and racial memory, offering profound insights into the intersections of art, history, and lived experience

About the Author

.

Bitter Kalli (they/them) is a writer and land worker originally from Brooklyn, NY. Through their work, Bitter seeks to create opportunities for liberatory storytelling, land stewardship, and collective food sovereignty.

Bitter's writing has appeared in BOMB Magazine, Guernica Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Arts.Black, and Architectural Digest, among others. They have received support from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the Schuylkill Environmental Center, the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative, Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, and Columbia University.

As a teaching artist, Bitter has worked with students at organizations including the School for Poetic Computation, the Painted Bride Arts Center, and the Rolling Library, as well as through independently produced events and workshops. Bitter is also the founder of Star Apple Farm and Nursery, a project focused on increasing access to Caribbean and Southeast Asian heritage crops.

This contest expired on Friday, Sep 26, 2025. Click here for other contests to enter.