Light into Bodies

Nancy Chen Long's debut collection Light Into Bodies (2016 Tampa Review Prize for Poetry) spoke to me as a mother of multiracial children, particularly as a mother who lives in the country of the other parent and is thus herself perceived as 'the other.' On top of that, Light Into Bodies is beautifully written. I hope you'll take the time to read my review of it at The Rumpus, and then hopefully read the collection itself.

Other reviews I've written in the past have been about analyzing the poems and looking intellectually at the book, but for Long's book I wanted to write about my experience of reading the book, how it felt to me. This is a more personal review than I've written before, and I'm slightly anxious about that. I'm grateful to Molly Spencer at The Rumpus for giving the review a chance, and mostly to Nancy Chen Long for writing a book that can help a mother like me see into her children's world.

Review of Whiteout at A Mountain Journey

One of my desires for Whiteout is that it be available not only to poetry readers, but also to people who climb, and those who love them. To this end, I'm delighted that Derek Lennon at A Mountain Journey, a website for climber, hikers, and skiers, has reviewed Whiteout for his audience, saying "Whiteout is a deeply moving book that will strike home with anyone who has ever lost someone in the mountains."

This was a hard book to write; what I hope is it can be of some solace to anyone else with a loss like my family's. If you know of anyone who might fit this description, please consider sharing this review with them. Thank you.

Interview with poet Sarah Blake

Poet Sarah Blake interviewed me about Whiteout for the Chicago Review of Books last week. Sarah asked such interesting questions that got to the heart of writing about family and grief. Please have a look if you struggle with those issues yourself.

Venues for Very Short Poems

I have a very short poem (two lines) that I'd love to see in print. I asked an online community of poets for venues that take (or even specifically look for short poems) and here's a list of what they came up with (posting here not to take credit, but to be able to find this list in the future):

Atticus Review
Cellpoems
Concis
Crab Fat
Hedgerow
Hoot
Hummingbird
Inch
One Sentence Poems
A Quiet Courage
Right Hand Pointing
Red Flag Poetry
Ruminate
Shot Glass

If you know of any more, let me know, and I'll add it to the list.

Here's a list of places where you can submit long poems too.