“This was one of those books that are in the when-I-need-it-this-is-going-to-be-important pile…” – dimitrireyespoet.com
We are halfway through 2020 and what a ride it has been. From the United States where I’m writing, lockdowns and protests have really painted the picture of what it means for us to be in an involuntary state of being ‘still’ where we begin asking questions about ourselves and the world around us. This has led to so much production in the art world where a large piece to what we do is recording histories and stories as they develop. The links below will take you to some examples of media doing just that.
Art House Jersey City Community Poem
In lieu of shelter in place orders I had taken some time to catch up on my book collection. I even got one of my book reviews published in Tupelo Quarterly. We Is is an amazing collection so please go check it out!
You’ll notice here, that I made a commitment to myself on March 19th and since then (of course!) I haven’t finished every book. But alas, this doesn’t mean I haven’t been as productive. This goes back to the idea of recording our histories and stories: since March I’ve been handling a few different projects that are still currently in the works. More on that soon.
What I wanted to do was briefly talk about the rest of my unread collection. These are great poetry suggestions that you should read.
Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine
Though I’ve read sections of it for sourcing/ research/ studying purposes I’ve never read it in its entirety. This book is widely considered one of the hands-down best pieces of literature of the 2010’s. This is a book diving deep into America’s relationship with blacks & black culture and is a very necessary read for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.
The Wild Night Dress, Laura McCullough
After being captivated by her reading, Laura McCullough and I actually book swapped at an event we were both being featured. She’s a wonderful being and talented poet, and I look forward to reading this book. The Wild Night Dress was also a finalist for the Miller Williams Poetry Prize and received blurbs from Paul Lisicky, Major Jackson, and Dorianne Laux
As a pro-tip, when browsing books, blurbs can in fact help you in the selection process if the blurbs are from other poets you know. Also, if books win prizes, they’ve had to have gone through a competitive submission process. These two tips aren’t always the key to knowing a good book, but it helps. There are PLENTY of AMAZING books that don’t have blurbs from the Billy Collins’ of the world nor tote a prize that are just as excellent.
Salamander Magazine #49
This magazine comes out of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. I highly respect their newly appointed Editor-in-Chief, José Angel Araguz, and the cover of this magazine is simply beautiful. This collection has both fiction and poetry and though I did read the poetry section I have not finished the prose and that’s why this is still on my list. This blog is me telling myself that i’ll be returning to it in order to read the fiction part. Just because one calls themselves a poet, doesn’t mean that they should solely read poetry. It’s all important to the development of the writer and I’m a big proponent of exercising other writer’s muscles besides poetry.
The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity, Blas Falconer, Lorraine M. Lopez
Do you consider yourself Latinx or are interested in the Latin American experience? Then this is a book that’ll allow you to get your geek on. In the idea of expanding your readerly palate, what one reads should involve some sort of theory that reflects the subjects you work with. Being a student of your themes allows you extra comfortability and confidence in regards to what you can say in your poems.
Bitter English, Ahmad Almallah
I have a soft spot for multilingual work because it’s something I study, too. Even if it isn’t in a language I can speak, there’s still a lot to learn about reading multilingual work because they’re still navigating more than one language. Basically, just because Almallah is switching between English and Arabic, and I switch between English and Spanish, it doesn’t mean that the way in which we weave in and out of the bilingualism is different. Plus, I can really get invested into this immigrant story: setting up his life in the United States with his wife and children while thinking about his whole family left in his country of Palestine.
Brown in the Windy City, Lilia Fernandez
This one particularly speaks about the Puerto Rican and Mexican migration to Chicago after World War II. This was the first big migration of these communities post the war and lays the groundwork to other locations of settlement. It’s a thick, heavy, scholarly read. This was one of those books that are in the “when I need it this is going to be important” pile, especially as I really dig deep into my roots later on and write more on the historical side of things rather than present histories or my own story.
Borderland Apocrypha, Anthony Cody
I acquired this book post- Instagram post so it wasn’t included in the picture. Anthony Cody’s collection is nothing like I’ve ever seen. It’s a hybrid poetry book that includes found poetry and all of these interesting forms. One of a kind, this book takes space on the page as a political statement and an experience, making you listen as the speaker illustrates racism and crime towards Mexicans in the United States.
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