Recent Poetry Releases to Add to Your Collections in Anticipation of The Sealey Challenge

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Connie Pan is simply a writer and exertion from Maui, Hawai‘i. She earned an MFA successful fabrication from West Virginia University and a BA successful originative penning from Grand Valley State University. Her penning has appeared successful Bamboo Ridge, Carve, HelloGiggles, PRISM International, The Billfold, and elsewhere. An excerpt from her novel-in-progress was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Instagram: @csnpan Twitter: @panlikepeter

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One of my favourite times of year, August exudes new-school-year vibes. It radiates caller notebooks, caller pens, and a meticulously selected outfit for the archetypal day. Now, different large portion of adoring August is The Sealey Challenge.

Founded successful 2017 by writer Nicole Sealey, participants work 1 poesy chapbook oregon full-length postulation each time for 31 days during the period of August and stock their reads crossed societal media with hashtags including #TheSealeyChallenge. Reading titles by divers voices and purchasing books from autarkic bookstores adjacent to location is besides successful the tone of this challenge.

After dabbling successful the month-long situation for 1 enactment week successful 2019, I’ve participated successful each and each August since, making this my 4th year. Every March, I statesman gathering a poesy heap early, truthful my publication fund feels the compression a small less. If a glimpse astatine my existent Sealey Challenge stack interests you, I program to work Vanessa Angélica Villarreal’s Beast Meridian, Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Lucky Fish, Etel Adnan’s Sea & Fog, and K. Iver’s Short Film Starring My Beloved’s Red Bronco, to sanction lone respective titles.

Find here, successful bid of work date, 8 titles ranging from works celebrating their archetypal day to caller releases and a forthcoming publication cleanable for Sealey Challenge piles.

Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble

Published past July, I happened upon Tibble’s propulsive U.S. debut astir hair, Māori identity, popular culture, and practice successful the poesy country astatine Sundog Books. The titled vignettes and mythological references of the first, titular portion gripped maine so. I near with a transcript successful my manus and snapped a representation of the breathtaking screen earlier the storefront. My caput keeps returning to “Pania,” who yearns for the ocean: “When she was small and lived by the sea, she swam a batch and was fearless with her assemblage . . . Her grandma ever said Never crook your backmost connected the ocean, due to the fact that you ne'er knew what mightiness beryllium coming in. She utilized to deliberation astir sharks and stingrays, past tidal waves, past she thought astir a skyline afloat of large achromatic sails.”

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Bluest Nude by Ama Codjoe

Last December, I near Octavia Books with this rubric wrapped successful navy and gold, and I placed it nether the small Christmas histrion successful my speechmaking nook. My last work of 2022, it proved a spectacular mode to adjacent retired my speechmaking year. One Sealey Challenge contented of excavation is that fractional of my books dwell of new-to-me titles, and the different fractional are rereads. Presented successful 4 numbered sections, I’ve been wanting to revisit Codjoe’s captivating debut postulation since New Year’s Eve. Pondering art, sadness, trauma, and water, it opens with “Blueprint.” A sticky emblem draws my eyes backmost to 3 of its lines, “I soaked achromatic beans for the colour they left. My bluish / was a habit, a benignant of stream I stepped into—sometimes / crossed—because it held the entity truthful perfectly.” I can’t hold to spot which lines I linger connected and which pages I dog-ear during my 2nd read.

The Symmetry of Fish by Su Cho

One of the 5 winners of the National Poetry Series successful 2021, Paige Lewis, the writer of Space Struck — 1 of my comfortableness reads — chose Cho’s unthinkable debut for publication, which catapulted it into my auto-buy category. Across 3 parts, these poems analyse coming of property successful the Midwest, Korean folklore, language, and love. During Christmastime, I devoured this successful New Orleans, successful parking lots, wherever I could acceptable a poem, and I’m delighted to instrumentality to this postulation this summer, particularly “The Old Man successful White Has Given My Mother a Ripe Persimmon Again,” “She Arose,” and “Another Door to the Moon.”

Phantom Pain Wings by Kim Hyesoon, translated by Don Mee Choi

In summation to The Sealey Challenge, August marks Women successful Translation Month, truthful observe by mixing successful immoderate translated poesy by women. Told successful 4 titled sections that culminate successful an effort by Hyesoon, these poems are funny, surreal, and teem with longing. Bird enthusiasts especially, scope for this reflection connected making, mourning, sound, and war. An endnotes fanatic, I profoundly appreciated the “Translator’s Diary,” drafting hearts successful the margins my full mode through. Insights into the process of translating poesy from Korean to English, the upwind and vertebrate reports, and dreams and nightmares fascinated me.

Things I Didn’t Do with This Body by Amanda Gunn

Meditating connected kitchens and perfume, grief and romance novels, and household and memory, I recovered Gunn’s debut postulation luminous. Comprised of six parts, sojourn these pages to autumn successful emotion with phrases, lines, poems, full sections, the poet’s work. The opening condemnation of “Notes connected a Dream of Dying” introduced my jaw to the floor, “I cognize this imagination similar the lines of my hand.” Throughout the book, the mentions of nutrient and the attraction progressive successful the mentation of dishes similar “a cookware of stuffed cabbage,” “graham / cracker cake,” and “paprikás” are each chef’s kiss.

Freedom House by KB Brookins

Unfolding successful 4 parts titled aft areas of a house, these stunning poems of Brookins transport readers to 2029, to the gynecologist, and to the moon. Delving into desire, sex identity, loss, and violence, this publication absorbed my attention. In Florida, I carried it to the beach. The bluish of the screen and the bluish undulating earlier maine mesmerized me. In utter awe, I work “I instrumentality my therapist’s proposition & close worrying to caring” to my spouse and adjacent umbrellas. Additional dog-eared pieces I support flipping backmost to: “It’s 6 americium & the Sun Is Out,” “Good Grief,” and “Finally, a Slow Weekend.”

Once a City Said: A Louisville Poets Anthology edited by Joy Priest

Edited by the writer of Horsepower, this compelling anthology highlights the words of 37 Louisville poets, a fantastic mode to work a assortment of writers successful a azygous sitting. In the introductory essay, Priest chronicles driving from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Houston, Texas, successful June of 2020. While stopping to remainder successful acquainted and location cities during the tallness of the COVID pandemic, Priest encounters protests successful the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In response, Priest facilitated a penning store via Sarabande, and galore of the pieces workshopped look passim these pages. With the rubric and 4 conception epigraphs spotlighting poem excerpts, this compassionate exploration of assemblage and home, Kentucky past and memory, and contention and resilience moved me.

The Ferguson Report: An Erasure by Nicole Sealey (8/15/2023)

Past Augusts, I person ended, begun, and begun and ended The Sealey Challenge with Sealey’s work, Ordinary Beast and The Animal After Whom Other Animals Are Named. This August, The Sealey Challenge creator has a caller rubric forthcoming. In Sealey’s 2nd full-length poesy book, the writer redacts the probe by the Department of Justice of the constabulary section and tribunal strategy successful Ferguson, Missouri, aft the decease of Michael Brown successful August of 2014. With the entirety of The Ferguson Report present, this erasure is organized into 9 parts, and the past features the 8 “lifted poems.” Preorder this much-anticipated merchandise truthful it arrives successful clip to fold into your publication stacks.

If you privation to peruse much poesy posts inspired by The Sealey Challenge, cheque retired 10 New-to-Me Poets I Discovered Thanks to The Sealey Challenge, 15 Poetry Books for the Upcoming Sealey Challenge, and Will You Join The Sealey Challenge? by yours truly.

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