Mara Panich ... exposes that accepted normative fiction compelling women to question themselves, apologize for their perceived body failures, and above all to stand aside when others, especially men, are present. — gary lundy, author of each room echoes absence (FootHills, 2018)
Weaving a tapestry of vulnerability and personal truths, Panich chronicles the connective tissue of trauma, longing, ache, cruelty, exclusion––all orbiting, like many of us, marbled forms of love. — Su Hwang, author of Bodega (Milkweed Editions, 2019)
In this searing debut, we find a collection of poems governed by the body, and like a prism held up to the light, Panich’s book reflects and refracts: the body’s heat, its desire, and the myriad ways it fails and betrays us. — Keetje Kuipers, author of All Its Charms (BOA Editions, 2019)
In Mara Panich’s Blood is Not the Water, to be alive and in a body is an act of redemption. With a hard-won certainty, Panich’s steady voice leads us through desire and grief, wit and anger, and out the other side. — Alicia Mountain, author of High Ground Coward (University of Iowa Press, 2018)
From the book:
Blood is Not the Water
blood is not the water
our children are restless about
but wine in bladders
and ice cubed coffee mugs.
last night I dreamt
I was dancing with a bear
leash in hand
twirling
twirling
twirling.
awoke swimming with sweat
a beastly odor lingering
in my nose.
when I placed my finger
in your mouth
it was a test of trust
a temptation to bite
or suckle
and your bear mouth behaved
as expected
both tender and teeth
to spill wine on my chest.
Blood is Not the Water
is an 88 page hand-stitched paperbook w/spine - $16.00
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