lovely poetry from a lovely poet

This entry doubles as a book review and direct letter to my dear friend Emma, the lovely poet of this amazing collection. <3
Hi, Emma! So, wow, these poems are kinda the coolest. The way your mind works around and with scripture and the "could bes" and "should bes" of understanding aspects of the Old Testament and its figures really astounds me. I think you've given such beautiful attention to the men and women whose names are more recognizable both inside and outside of Christian traditions as well as those who are less popular, or completely nameless. Each of these figures, after all, were once just people in their own right, hearing the voice of God willingly or inadvertently, unable to presume the affects (or echoes) their voices would have years and years to come in scripture itself as well as collections like this one. I absolutely adored being able to see you in between these words, too. I caught glimpses of conversations we had both about your writing and the presence and spirit of the Lord, about how the effect of words and prophecy shout, whisper, and come in many forms. You put such thought into the structure of the book itself, basing its cycle on the Talmud as you did. I also think there's something to be said about examining and including the voices and experiences of both men and women alike; the feminist agenda does not seek to exclude men, but rather seeks to see how equality can really exist among literally everyone. That truth shines alongside your visceral, exact prose, and makes the contrast between the more ancient and more modern settings within different poems even starker. Thank you for writing these gems, Emma, and sharing them with the world.


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My favorite poems in this collection: "A prophet never folds," "Moses, Between the Before and After," "The plans for you," "Elijah assures Adam and Eve that they will leave hell soon," "God of Sarah," "Say it again: sons and daughters," "The river is not divided," "Gomer never wanted a picket fence," "Hosea always wanted a love story" (my absolute fave), and "Fruit trees for the fearful."

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