books
From the prize-winning author of Accidental Garden, Superbloom follows the path of unfathomable grief and a parent’s enduring connection.
“Superbloom by Catherine Esposito Prescott is not merely a book of poems—it is a quiet act of devotion. In language both luminous and precise, Prescott traces the contours of unimaginable loss and transforms grief into something tender, reverent, and enduring. Like light filtered through stained glass, each poem refracts sorrow into unexpected hues of remembrance and renewal. Rooted in the natural world, both on Earth and beyond, these poems offer a sacred mirror that reflects the eternal bond between parent and child. Again and again, Superbloom provides the reader with moments in which unbearable absence becomes presence—where, as she writes, ‘Memories bubble up inside of me, each a pocket / of joy, iridescent and light,’ and even the deepest pain is made to shimmer—with faith, with radiance, with grace.”
—Caridad Moro-Gronlier
Author of Tortillera
“Catherine Esposito Prescott’s Superbloom is a heart-rending tour of mother-grief. In this carefully calibrated examination of what it feels like to live past the loss of a child grown in one’s own body, Prescott find grace and faith, a tenderness almost shocking in the face of a loss so powerful its gravity could easily become a black hole of pain and anger. These poems insist on the continuity of all living beings, refusing Dylan Thomas’s rage, and supposing that Whitman may be right when he says ‘there is really no death,’ but of course, there is death, her son’s death, and the power of this collection is that it keeps both him and her in this world, held firm by each reader lucky enough to open this book.”
—Jason Schneiderman
Author of Self Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire
“In its intricately-patterned braiding of meditations on love, loss, everyday happiness and profound grief, Catherine Esposito Prescott’s Superbloom is one of the most courageous and moving books of poems I’ve read in years. Employing ordinary language to reach beyond the ordinary into the realms of elegy and prayer, these poems evoke a kind of transformation, allowing us to glimpse that place where grief opens to the possibility if not the realization of miracle. At their core, these are hymns of gratitude: ‘My heart is dust,’ Esposito Prescott writes, ‘but nothing is unbeautiful here.’”
—Michael Hettich
Author of A Sharper Silence
“Written during a year of seismic transformation, Catherine Esposito Prescott’s poems are studies in patience and grace—poems that ask how the human spirit continues, the ‘updraft of it, in the reel and pull of it,’ and how love reshapes what remains. These poems, lush, lyrical, and fiercely tender, transform grief into an art of awareness, a ‘theater of hope.’ Catherine’s is the voice of a confidant, talking truths and what-ifs. Between science and religion, is another wisdom, one of a mother. Beautiful and brutal and sawing and singing, these poems brought me to my knees.”
—Alexandra Lytton Regalado
Author of Relinquenda: Poems (National Poetry Series)
Reviews of Accidental Garden:
by Rona Luo in Mom Egg Review
by Catherine Staples in The Adroit Journal
CHAPBOOKS
Published by dancing girl press in 2017, Maria Sings is the story about a women named Maria, who is diagnosed with cancer. Maria is surrounded by a group of friends, a chorus, many of whom are named Maria. Maria becomes a symbol, a figure encapsulating the experiences of all women. A short examination about what being a woman in today's society, about the feminine, about disease and healing, about serendipity and hope, Maria Sings is a celebration of womanhood, about a woman's determination to heal, and about her finding her voice.
“Searing and sublime. Whether writing of an ordinary sea-side lunch or devastating loss, Catherine Esposito Prescott honors the wild, boundless heart of motherhood with precision and love. A beautiful and unforgettable journey into that ‘island of the mother’s mind, lush with her kids...’” - Ana Menéndez
“Intricate and unflinchingly intimate, Catherine Esposito Prescott’s The Living Ruin is a lush exploration of motherhood and mortality. Though teeming with gorgeous language, impeccable details and opulent imagery, she does not shrink from the rough blood pumping below the skin.” - Jennifer L. Knox
“Catherine Esposito Prescott has shared an intimate and tragic life journey in The Living Ruin. These beautiful and deftly written poems migrate through time to arrive at a place so many mothers have found to be their own place and time and circumstances.” - Leah Maines
ANTHOLOGIES
A gender-inclusive anthology of poetry and prose that addresses the physical and psychological act of being “grabbed,” or in any way assaulted.
The #MeToo movement, the infamous Access Hollywood tape, and the depraved and hypocritical actions of celebrities, politicians, CEOs, and other powerful people have caused people all over the nation to speak out in outrage, to express allegiance for the victims of these assaults, and to raise their voices against a culture that has allowed this behavior to continue for too long.
The editors asked writers and poets to add to the conversation about what being “grabbed” means to them in their own experience or in whatever way the word “grabbed” inspired them. What they received are often searing, heart-rending works, ranging in topic from sexual misconduct to racial injustice, from an unwanted caress to rape, expressed in powerful, beautifully crafted prose and poetry.
The writers represented here… have mined their collective experiences to reveal their most vulnerable moments, and in some cases, to narrate moments that they have had previously been unwilling or unable to speak of. What results is a collection of emotional, hard-hitting pieces that speak to the aftermath of violation—whether mental, emotional, or physical. — Beacon Press
The Orison Anthology is an annual collection of the finest spiritually engaged writing that appeared in periodicals in the preceding year. Our anthology aims to not only fill, but expand, the space left by the absence of the Best American Spiritual Writing series. In addition to reprinted material, each year the anthology will also include new, previously unpublished works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry by the winners of The Orison Anthology Awards, judged by different prominent writers each year. The judges for Volume 1 were Kevin McIlvoy, Ann Hood, and Claire Bateman. The winners receive $500 each, as well as publication. The winners for Vol. 1 were Jill Widner, Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, and Christopher J. Adamson.
In the course of interviewing poets, and Interview With A Poet is where the South Florida Poetry Journal began, we constantly hear of happy accidents: there was this one poetry teacher, there was a book I found, there was an open mic, there was someone I had a crush on that got me started writing and I never stopped. Whatever the reason or circumstance, we write, we share, we perform. Years ago many of the SoFloPoJo editors were fortunate enough to make one another’s acquaintance at local poetry friendly venues. Over the decades we continued to gather and over time our friendships deepened. At the heart of it, this journal is the fruit of those friendships. Three years in, we’re delighted to provide one additional safe haven for the poetry renaissance. To all the poets we have published here in this anthology, in our quarterly journal, on our social media, and to you, Dear Reader, a grateful thank you and exhortation to carry on.
"American poetry has a rich tradition of taking on important political and social events. The 99 poems in this diverse and dynamic new collection demonstrate how engagement with what Wallace Stevens called “the actual world” does not diminish poetry’s punch—rather it makes it hit harder. Born out of a popular blog began by Dean Rader at the height of the recession and at the infancy of the Occupy movements, 99 Poems for the 99 Percent shows that the aims of poetry and the aims of democracy are hand-in-hand. These are poems of anger, love, protest, humor, contemplation, hope, frustration, and beauty. These are poems by the famous and the marginal, by the heard and the ignored. These are poems that speak to the past as well as the future. These are poems of and for the real America." - 99:The Press
"Hafiz, Gibran, Neruda, Rumi . . . their yoga mats were blank pieces of paper; they did asana with pencils between their fingers; their pranayama was inverted metaphor; and their Samadhi was uninhibited, naked poetry. Yoga is a journey, an intricate dance of mind, body, breath, and spirit. It is cultivation of self-awareness through reflection. The Poetry of Yoga is an ecstatic gathering of poetry written by some of the most accomplished and well-known spiritual teachers of our time. Poems are set in the following yogic themes: compassion, desire, freedom, transformation, and service. A book all yoga practitioners cherish and return to over and over for nourishment and inspiration."
Published by White Cloud Press.