my debut poetry collection echolalia echolalia will be out October 1st, 2024 with Brick Books.
pre-order link:
This collection was edited by Phoebe Wang, with the incredible support of Beni Xiao, shō yamagushiku, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Cynthia Dewi Oka, Brandi Bird, and Mallory Tater. Couldn’t have done it without the mentorship and encouragement from Kayla Czaga, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Annick MacAskill, Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, and so many others.
Thank you to all the poetry pals and my loved ones for making this lil book a possibility.
Thank you to Alayna, Emma, and the rest of the team at Brick for the impeccable care!
🏓💼🍑
Being a poet at this hour of the world means, among other things, questioning the status quo and asking ourselves if our work serves empire or helps us to dream of a different one. As this book took shape over the last five years, one thing that’s become clear to me is the way poetry offers me refusal, rebellion, and elision, how such strategies preserve spirit and dignity, how they swaddle, intervene, nurture, humour, and embrace. I wanted to channel younger voices in this book. We live in a world where we are constantly asking young ones to give up on their creativity and curiosity for survival, or convince them that their survival strategies are not creative interventions. I wanted to listen to those voices and converse with the ethical quandaries within their survival questions, in what’s-next questions, in am-I-bad-for-leaving questions. I wanted to play and swing across enjambments where I otherwise do not let myself, and I’m so glad I did.
Special Bonus:
Folks in the States, especially those in occupied Duwamish territories, colonially known as Seattle, Washington and the PNW region, can order echolalia echolalia at Workshops4Gaza's bookstore in partnership with Open Books: A Poem Emporium.
All proceeds go to Mohammed and his family in Gaza, who have been sick with Hepatitis due to the lack of clean, drinking water and sanitation systems:
