Poetry is a medium that can do many things but the most important is to communicate emotions and feelings to allow us for even a brief moment to be in another person’s skin. Anastacia-Renée new book of poems Side Notes from the Archivist does just that in a very powerful way. While there are some things I might have in common with the author like trying to be your authentic self when the world seems to be against it there are many ways we are different but I feel her life when I read her words and they speak of her youth, her culture, her religion all in a manner that is new and unique but readily understandable. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to read her book. It is a must check out for anyone from a marginalized community and probably even more so for those who don’t.
I love the whole book but one of my favorites passages is this
when the house is asleep
i write my will
& all my letters
put them in a place
someone will find
tell people all is well
because haven’t we
survived everything
Isn’t pandemic
just a long sterile word for
history