Good Work, v.02
Folks making things worth celebrating
Here are a few things worth celebrating from friends and people I admire—poets, artists, thinkers, and makers doing good work in the world. Some are new; others have been waiting for their flowers and are simply too good to let pass unnoticed. If you’re looking for something to read or share, start here:
(1) Sanna Wani has a poem in Poet Lore—the Devotion folio edited by Patrycja Humienik. Sanna’s book, Lantern, is also available for pre-order now at House of Anansi Press.
(2) Black Lake by Emily Skaja will be out on September 1st. I can’t wait. From Graywolf Press: “This is an unflinching book, a harsh recognition that life goes on with or without the permission of the grieving self. “Who are you to say, / I lost the world?” Skaja asks. “No one. To admit / that you held the world at all?””
(3) Johnny Cordova has a new book, The Broken Buddha, from Roadside Press: “Ancient poets Li Po, Ryokan, and Ikkyu each appear in prose poems set against present-day backdrops: a barbershop tucked into a narrow side street in northern Bangkok, an overnight train traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, or a truck stop diner in the American West. The collection turns towards themes of death, loss, and the dharma of impermanence, and finally arrives at a quiet, if incomplete, redemption.”
(4) My dear Jenny Molberg has five (!) poems in Waxwing, and “Love Song in the Key of Little Edie” in particular has my heart:
(5) Sarah Ghazal Ali has two poems published in the spring issue of The Poetry Review:
(6) Egrets, While War by Tishani Doshi is forthcoming in September from Copper Canyon Press: “Unflinching, yet tender, the poems in Tishani Doshi’s Egrets, While War exist in a world of dualities, holding “desire in one hand, suffering in another.” Meditations on loss and larger world conflicts move alongside personal experiences, vulnerable self-reflections, and a deep longing for “what’s wild / and pulsing.” Thick with lush and immersive imagery, the pages of this collection are punctuated by birds as omens, as prophecies, as epiphanies, and sometimes, as moments of “brief blazing splendor.””
(7) Very moved by Jarrett Moseley’s poem, “Every Poet Has A Love Affair With A Bridge,” which appears in Hayden’s Ferry Review:
(8) Mandy Moe Pwint Tu has two poems out in Issue 03 of Outskirts Literary Journal. I especially liked “Some Nights I Feel Apart from My Friends”:
(9) The lovely Manthipe Moila recently had her book launch in Seoul for her debut poetry collection, Rootbound, published by uHlanga: “How does one grow in a new place, in a new language? Is it possible to grow new roots, or does pain forever bind us to the past? Drawing on the botanical environment – as well as a self-made jungle of houseplants – Moila meditates on memory and loss, the thrills of exploration, and the journey of becoming. A fresh, inventive and essential new voice in South African literature.” Congratulations, Manti!
(9) Really loved Erica Miriam Fabri’s “Raft on a River Poem” published in Volume VIII of Quibble Lit:
(10) I am so excited for Victoria Chang’s Tree of Knowledge, published by FSG. Thinking of this poem, “Tree of Knowledge, No. 7B” and these lines: “I always assumed the trees knew everything, / but af Klint knew they are of knowledge. // To be of something means to write oneself out of / the frame. All this time, I thought we were the / object and the source. But we are neither, just of / life.”
(11) Dominique Ahkong is in the same Poet Lore issue with her poem, “Washing My Friend’s Panties” as well as in Epiphany with “A Simple Girl Takes a Seat at the Table”: “I walked like a thief in my own bedroom. / My desires have never been casual.”
(12) Hieu Minh Nguyen has a new book, Staying Still, out in September from Tin House. I can’t wait to be blessed with new poems from this wonderful poet.
I believe in the work of paying attention, in showing up and sharing what moves us. In my own little way I hope I make more room for one another’s art. Come join me in celebrating these lovely folks and perhaps discover something new to read and share along the way 🌼
Yours,
T.