Saida Agostini's “let the dead in” Featured in Ms. Magazine
Saida Agostini's debut collection of poems receives a glowing recommendation from Ms. Magazine in three words: "Mythology, ancestry, triumph."
Popular American feminist megazine, Ms. Magazine, shouts out Saida Agostini's much raved about new collection of poems in a listicle posted on April 20th entitled "Poetry for the Rest of Us 2022." With three words, "Mythology, Ancestry, Triumph" Ms. places Agostini's let the dead in among recent poetry standouts like Salmas Sharif's Customs and Aurielle Marie's Gumbo Ya Ya. Ms. Magazine has a long history of supporting female-identifying artists and the editor's whole-hearted support for Agostini's latest is welcome and merited.
Saida Agostini’s first full-length poetry collection, let the dead in, is an exploration of the mythologies that seek to subjugate Black bodies, and the counter-stories that reject such subjugation. Audacious, sensual, and grieving, this work explores how Black women harness the fantastic to craft their own road to freedom. A journey across Guyana, London, and the United States, it is a meditation on black womanhood, queerness, the legacy of colonization, and pleasure. These poems craft a creation story fat with love, queerness, mermaids, and blackness.
Read a poem from let the dead in Here, watch her discuss ltdi Here, and order your copy Here
A Stirring Tribute: Carmen Nickerson reads Solari’s “Meditation for my Country” During 9/11 Concert
Accomplished singer-songwriter Carmen Nickerson and pianist Kostia Efimov provide an intimate, acoustic set as part of the No Studios unplugged series.
At approximately 42 minutes into the set, Nickerson pauses to acknowledge the date – September 11th – and pulls out a sheet of paper. The poem she reads is Rose Solar’s “Meditation for my Country.”
Grace Cavalieri Releases New Podcast with Jeffrey Lamar Coleman
Grace Cavalieri’s new podcast is off to a strong start. This week’s guest is professor Jeffrey Lamar Coleman, editor of “Words of Protest, Words of Freedom: Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement and Era.”
Former Student Describes Reuben Jackson’s Jazz-infused Poetry Class
Miles Liss, who recently graduated with an MFA in poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts, reflects on his time taking classes under maestro Reuben Jackson in this short essay.