Hey ya’ll,
Just wanted to drop some AMAZING news that I got a few days ago (it hit Twitter first, of course. If you’re not following me, you should @suckasspoetry that’s where all the shenanigans go down).
I know I’ve mentioned that all last year I’d been working on a poetry collection called Song of the Sister – this is the one that’s a hot take on the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) that is only a woman’s voice, set in a contemporary urban environment. It takes what I love – dirty realism and biblical studies – and mashes those two together. It sounds weird, but I promise.. it works. I spent all this past summer putting together the book – editing, layouts, etc – and began submitting it to a few pubs. No luck, no dice – but after 3 or 4 rejections, Anxiety Press looked at this fucking monstrosity and took it!
So – this is a combined photo / poetry book – meaning, for each poem there is an accompanying picture that captures the mood of the poem itself. There are a total of 24 poems in there – which doesn’t seem like a lot, but – trust me – it’s a journey. It comes out July 10th of this year, and will be released on Amazon! I feel like this last portion will make life a hell of a lot easier for all of you.
Check out this cover! I’m in love with it!
Poems that Suck 
Wow, that is a bitchin’ cover! Congratulations. Sounds like a helluva read.
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Thanks! Cody over at AP did that cover in one shot, and it’s perfect. Makes me feel like I’m in good hands for sure!
This is a wild ride to read – it’s just good ol’ dirty realism that’s telling a fucked up love story.
I don’t think I’ve ever worked on something so intentional before – usually it’s just random chaos that comes out of my brain haha
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Seems like your scholarly interests are really informing this one and I think that’s quite exciting as a writer (and for your readers, too).
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Yeah, it absolutely inspired this project – without a doubt.
Obviously it’s not a textbook, so no real biblical scholarship – like you’re not going to learn anything.
But it’s been a blast to read this in the original Hebrew, and really grasp the deep eroticism and longing present in the text that you just don’t get in the English. I’m hoping to bring that out with this text.
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And that is the shit that really interests me – witnessing the results of a creative individual engaging with so fundamental a text. Hell, there’s probably an entire series of books you could produce in this same vein as you move through your studies alongside composing poems. At any rate, 🤘🤘.
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I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.
There are a few female voices that really interest me; Zipporah (Moses’ wife whom he abandoned), Sarai (especially after Abraham pimped her twice), Rahab (the prostitute in Joshua), Bathsheeba (never hear her voice after David murdered her husband and forced her to be his wife), Debra (one of the judges) Huldah (a female prophet whom Josiah consulted after finding the book of the law – she’s the one who identified it when even the priests couldn’t), Ruth and Naiomi (I’m pretty sure this is a lesbian story lol), etc…
It could end up being a series, for sure. To my knowledge no one else has combined dirty realism/transgressive fiction with biblical studies. There’s been historical fiction, of course, but it’s all written beautifully. I’d like to get down to the nitty gritty shit of these women. I’m pretty sure Sarai called Abraham a motherfucker… I know I would LOL
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I think you definitely found your opening line for your take on Sarai!😂
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Indeed!!!
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