Blending the personal with the political, these poems explore the deleterious effects of adversity and trauma on a global scale, focusing on such subjects as immigration laws, environmental degradation, multinational corporate greed, and the effects of war on women and children. The poet makes unexpected connections between disparate things, drawing from wild nature for imagery while also passionately engaging the reader to become aware of injustice and suffering at home and abroad. The poems are crafted using lyrical language that is at once precise, figurative, and celebratory, creating a collection that is humanitarian and emotionally resonate.
Pamela Uschuk is a professor of creative writing at Fort Lewis College, the editor in chief of the literary magazine Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts, and the author of four volumes of poetry, including Crazy Love, winner of the 2010 American Book Award. A recipient of the Struga International Poetry Prize, her poems have been translated into a dozen languages. She lives in Durango, Colorado.