Publisher: KenWrites
The famished! There is much more about those who are the famished. Not only those without food to eat. This poem digs deeper into the rabbit-hole of the famished and shows much more.
In The Kingdom of Surfaces, award-winning poet Sally Wen Mao examines art and history—especially the provenance of objects such as porcelain, silk, and pearls—to frame an important conversation on beauty, empire, commodification, and violence. In lyric poems and wide-ranging sequences, Mao interrogates gendered expressions such as the contemporary “leftover women,” which denotes unmarried women, and the historical “castle-toppler,” a term used to describe a concubine whose beauty ruins an emperor and his empire. These poems also explore the permeability of object and subject through the history of Chinese women in America, labor practices around the silk loom, and the ongoing violence against Asian people during the COVID-19 pandemic. At its heart, The Kingdom of Surfaces imagines the poet wandering into a Western fantasy, which covets, imitates, and appropriates Chinese aesthetics via Chinamania and the nineteenth-century Aesthetic Movement, while perpetuating state violence upon actual lives. The title poem is a speculative recasting of Through the Looking-Glass, set in a surreal topsy-turvy version of the eponymous China-themed 2015 Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala. The Kingdom of Surfaces is a brilliantly conceived call for those who recognize the horrors of American exceptionalism to topple the empire that values capital over lives and power over liberation.Show book
My love of poetry was always unrequited. As with all young boys, my English teachers forced me to memorize and recite unintelligible Shakespearean sonnets and turn bad blood into worse ink. For the next half-century, I never gave it a chance. But at the age of 71, poetry came in search of me. The theme of ‘senses’ made sense. As a physician and winemaker, I would try to turn exquisite impressions into exquisite expressions, solvents for the soul dipped in dyes of the heart. There are 17 poems in this sense-ational collection, each with a different form, climbing higher on the sensory evolutionary ladder from the cranial nerves to the prefrontal cortex and beyond. Writing them was like dropping a rose petal into an elevator shaft and waiting for the echo. Read these short, jagged-edged lines as imaginary gardens of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of dictionary.Show book
1508. France. A woman dances compulsively – and soon hundreds join her. 1962. Tanzania. A schoolgirl's laughing fit spreads from village to village. 2011. USA. Cheerleaders are overcome by uncontrollable twitching. 2023. London. A group of women suddenly lose the ability to speak – and no one can figure out why. The team at an all-female podcast decide to investigate and end up on a journey of discovery, uncovering more than they bargained for. The Maladies by Carmen Nasr is a powerful, provocative play, offering rich material for schools, colleges and youth theatres, particularly those looking for leading roles for young women. It was devised with the Almeida Young Company, directed by Yasmin Hafesji, and first performed at The Yard Theatre, London, in April 2022.Show book
"Beowulf", a sprawling, fantastical tale of bravery, heroism, and Anglo-Saxon heraldry, is the most celebrated epic poem in the English language. The story of the great Geatish fighter Beowulf, who comes to the aid of the beleagued Hrothgar and his men, this poem relates three epic battles: Beowulf's fight with the monster Grendel, his face-off with Grendel's vengeful mother and, after serving as King for 50 years, Beowulf's fateful clash with a fire-breathing dragon. Francis B. Gummere's translation of this ancient text has been hailed for over a century and is here brought back to life with a summary of the poem by the English scholar Dr. J.L. Hall.Show book
Find refuge and wisdom with a student of Thich Nhat Hanh in the pages of this poignant poetry collection that speaks to the heart of overcoming life’s adversities, Zen style This profound poetry collection, written by a disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, charts a journey from turmoil to tranquility. In this deeply personal work, Sister Dang Nghiem, known for her insightful and compassionate teachings, unveils a journey of transformation and healing that bridges two pivotal phases of her life: the years prior to her monastic ordination and the profound insights gained thereafter. This unique compilation, divided into two distinct parts, illustrates Sister Dang Nghiem's evolution not just as a poet but as a spiritual practitioner. -The first half, spanning 1989-1999, offers a glimpse into her pre-monastic life, filled with yearnings for reconciliation and liberation yet entangled in suffering and attachments. -The latter half, encompassing her writings from 2000 to 2023, reflects a stark transformation, imbued with the wisdom and tranquility of her Zen practice. Not just a display of poetic prowess, but also a testament to Sister Dang Nghiem's resilience and spiritual growth, these poems resonate with honesty and vulnerability, providing readers with a candid testament to the life-altering power of healing through mindfulness and deep community. The River in Me offers a path toward inner peace and wholeness for those navigating the complexities of life and is an essential read for anyone seeking solace and understanding.Show book
'My mother was an oak treemy dad a garage mechanicMy father was a field of wheatmy mother the Prime MinisterMy mother was an innkeeperand my father a lonely cactus…' Suzannah Evans' new pamphlet introduces us to Green, half human, half angry nature spirit. Green serves as a stunt double for our own rage and complicity in nature's destruction. He shows us nature's delights so we may mourn their loss more deeply. 'In this delicious mini-biography of the mythic figure, Suzannah Evans has conjured up a Green Man – now modishly monikered 'Green' – who is witness, listener, accountant, cheerleader, of all and every aspect of nature. An inveterate listicle maker, he can't help but nag us until our attention is drawn back inexorably to the wonder of the world; it's nightmares too. Whether he is supervising extinctions, lavender farming, or picking up plastic litter on the beach, Green is unabashedly a fun, wry and playful personality to spend some time with.' Rishi Dastidar 'Green is a contemporary secular canticle, where matter and living beings are in mischievous, polyphonic dialogue. Channelled through this beyond-human figure, it presents a decentred ecology where "Green isn't rooting for anyone" – but where we must find a way to befriend 'him', without turning him into a 'man'. Earth is lively and re-enchanted, in Green's contemporary and accessible animism. We are invited to accept the majesty of llama memes alongside the 'death drop' of species extinction. Fuck you, Green says to the wasps, stinging him all over, I still love you. A gentle, passionate, good-natured plea, for even the stickiest, ickiest, grossest creatures to be named in Green's – and humanity's – affections.' Caleb ParkinShow book
