The Territories of Our Spirit
A Review of Carlos Sirah’s The High Alive: An Epic Hoodoo Diptych
A Review of Carlos Sirah’s The High Alive: An Epic Hoodoo Diptych
“The dark, for me, is always a place of brimming; even when it is anguishing and unbearable. . .”
“In English, speakers are actors and objects are acted upon. A persimmon is there to be eaten. For Powhatan speakers, it just as likely might not be there since the persimmon, like other objects of the natural world, has an agency and animacy of its own.”—an essay by Emily Parzybok
“At times, forgetting is essential. In the poem, that refers to the way one person, a mother, a woman, part of a traditional family where roles and expectations are clearly cut, needs to forget about that part of hers in order to breathe, to tend to the little things that make her happy—like doing her nails—to keep it going. We are a multitude of things, after all.”
Conducted by Jennifer Elise Foerster
The most difficult death is forgiveness
“A poem’s sweetness leads to its own devouring.”—an essay by Jehanne Dubrow
“Often, as I attempt to solve literary problems, I find my mind working not in language, but in music or in space.”
“It’s interesting to me how when we think of the dead and project their presence in our lives, the projections often point to events or milestones that the dead will not experience with us. Birthdays, holidays, first days of school, etc. There were so many events in 2020 that I’m glad Vivian never had to endure.”
“Marrying then and now, that’s a ploy to be sensible, to recognize in my childhood-self the simplification and wishful thinking, to overlay some hard truth, and to acknowledge that I’m chained to this country by love.”