In Our Difficult Sunlight, Quraysh Ali Lansana and Georgia Popoff demonstrate the power of poetry in the K-12 classroom. Drawing on their combined thirty years as teaching artists, the authors explore the terrain of the 21st-century public school and outline strategies for using the reading and creation of poetry to improve students' reading comprehension and writing skills. Highlighting best practices, exercises, and anecdotes rooted in their diverse experiences as a Chicago-based, African American poet/professor and a Caucasian poet/educator from upstate New York, Lansana and Popoff offer insights into how engaging young people in writing and sharing poetry can break down barriers to learning, aid in exploration of critical issues, and foster connections among students and teachers from very different backgrounds.