April 2022
Zoeglossia Poem of the Week Series: Staff Picks in Celebration of National Poetry Month
Curated by Zoeglossia Staff
In celebration of National Poetry Month, we offer some of our favorite poems, handpicked by Staff.
Because I love the way it sounds, I’m thrilled to choose Camisha Jones’ (April 4) powerful performance poem, “My Hearing Loss Interrogates the World.” I think it’s an electric piece of spoken word, where the disability holds the agency as the poet contemplates interactions with others. It’s exciting to my ear because of the poet’s inflections, connotations, and her use of repetition. This makes it perfect for audio. I invite you to read along as you listen.
Tonya Suther, webmaster
Matthew Siegel (April 11) beckons (but never pleads) us to bear witness in this poem, which is at once lamentation and proclamation. As a poet with chronic illness, I understand the internal tensions between what a body "coulda - shoulda - woulda" been, and what that body "is". But Siegel takes us further, as the speaker refracts and reflects: Bravery, let me speak of pain/ I thought was done with me. Though pain is not done with the speaker, this poem makes clear that Siegel is still here, and will not allow himself to be undone by the pain.
Saleem Hue Penny, Poetry Coalition Fellow
I choose Airea D. Matthew's (April 18) "Meeting Anne Sexton" because of the tone. I love the tongue in cheek, yet it is also very serious.
Jennifer Bartlett, Zoeglossia Co-founder.
I choose Fatigue by Aurora Levins Morales (April 25). This poem begins so lightly - talking about I am tired ("Je suis fatigué") but expands so wildly and movingly into an elegy, an indictment, an exposure of the fear of women, the crimes against the bodies of women and in a way that feels utterly original. I keep reading and rereading this poem and each time I uncover more and grow more in awe of Morales' metaphoric intelligence. This is a beautiful work.
Shiela Black, Zoeglossia Co-founder