“The word is ‘yearn.’ Not ‘yearning’—not that soft.
Yearn. A command. A dare. The poet’s directive to herself and to us, Reader. Do you want to feel your body alight & vibrating?
Yearn. Rage Hezekiah’s poems walk that walk, show—in stunning images, in did-she-say-that? word-witchery—a woman making her desires known to herself, so she can step out to meet the life she wants to live. A wondrous, complex creature among wondrous, complex creatures. Not fearful or pretending, but beloved, ablaze, and open.”
—Evie Shockley, author of
semiautomatic
“Rage Hezekiah's impressive collection pulses with a deep emotional intelligence. This book is filled with spare and beautiful verse that manages to explore the erotic, the familial, and the mundane with stunning wisdom. From the masterful use of the cento to poems in the traditions of Lucille Clifton and Danez Smith, this is a book that sings a necessary song. We are all richer in a world where
Yearn can exist to help us consider these questions of consent and contemplation.”
—Nate Marshall, author of
Finna
“Language sits on the threshold of feeling in
Yearn, rides ‘the meadow’s limit.’ The natural world is a mirror for the graces and griefs within the season of living we witness in these poems. At its core,
Yearn pulses green with erotic energy and interrogates the heart of desire and the thrill of insatiability.”
—Taylor Johnson, author of
Inheritance
