Teeth is a stunning, highly original collection that celebrates the richness of the author's multicultural tradition. Girmay's poetry explores love, wars, wild hope, defiance, and the spirit of creativity with daring language and syntax. Behind this language, one senses a powerful, inventive woman who is not afraid to tackle any subject, including rape, genocide, and love, always sustained by an optimistic voice, assuring us that in the end justice will triumph and love will persevere.
BIO
Aracelis Girmay was born and raised in Southern California. She has authored three critically acclaimed poetry collections and a collage-based picture book. Her poetry is deeply enriched by the merging of Eritrean, Puerto Rican, and African American traditions. In 2011, Girmay was awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2015 she received a Whiting Award for Poetry. She currently teaches at Hampshire College. She lives in New York City.
REVIEWS
"In Teeth, the poems of Aracelis Girmay ring out with a burning truth as she transports the reader into the world of despair, discrimination, sorrows, triumphs, joy and the courage it takes to flourish as a woman of color. Her keen observations are put forth with an appetite for life without fear or self-consciousness as she weaves her words into a range of potent poems." --Nicholasa Mohr
"The poetry of Aracelis Girmay is so strong, so brave, so lyrical, so fiery, so joyful, that the usual literary superlatives fail. I think of Sandra Cisneros and her words of praise for another writer, Denise Chávez: 'I love this book so much it sounds like I'm lying.' Exactly." --Martín Espada
"Teeth is a fantastic book of poetry. It is a cry for peace and understanding. It is a window." --Claire Hersom, Rattle
[P] Curbstone Press / June 01, 2007
0.34" H x 8.46" L x 5.6" W (0.45 lbs) 130 pages