Selected by Stephanie Burt as the winner of the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize, Margaret Ray's Good Grief, the Ground interrogates the everyday violence's nonchalantly inflicted unto women through personal, political, and national lenses. Moving between adolescence and adulthood, Ray alternates between dark humour and heart-wrenching honesty to explore grief, anxiety, queer longing, girlhood, escape from a bad marriage, and the dangers of lending language to a thing. With stunning wit and precision and attention, we see Ray show us what it is to be human: the mess of tenderness and darkness and animosity.
Out of the heavy Florida dusk, out of peach juice and late-night swimming pool break-ins and grocery store aisles comes these completely captivating poems. In the words of Stephanie Burt: "Come and see. Take care. Dive in."
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The beetles have gathered in pairs.- THE END OF AUGUST
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(BOA Editions, 18 May 2023, e-book, 104 pages, #ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss+)
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This is a new poet for me. I loved Good Grief, the Ground. I love discovering new poets. It's rare to find a poetry collection where every poem and every word in it just works and ticks all of the boxes. I found that with this collection. I love the prose style of the poems and the imagery, and the range of themes explored. This collection was a joy to read. I especially liked Haunt, Getting Your Period At Water Park, My Younger Self Speaks To Me And I Write Down What She Says, Something That Floats, Late & Soon and Peaches. This is a remarkable collection.