Winner of the 2015 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award!
Review
“This is the rare book of poetry that makes one pause while reading, look up from the page, whistle low. It’s poetry to be savored, then devoured, then shared.”
—Lambda Literary Review. More here.
About the Book
In her debut collection of verse and prose, Lenelle Moïse moves deftly between memories of growing up as a Haitian immigrant in the suburbs of Boston, to bearing witness to brutality and catastrophe, to intellectual, playful explorations of pop culture enigmas like Michael Jackson and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Be it the presence of a skinhead on the subway, a newspaper account of unthinkable atrocity, or the 'noose loosened to necklace' of desire, the cut of Haiti Glass lays bare a world of resistance and survival, mourning and lust, need and process, triumph and prayer. This is a new title from the City Lights Publishers Sister Spit imprint.
Interviews
Excerpt
Read the five poems from this collection.
Praise
"Haiti Glass is a magnificent collection of poetry and prose. Part mantra, part lamentation, part prayer, this incredible book puts us wholly in the presence of an extraordinary and brave talent, whose voice will linger in your heart and mind long after you read the last word of this book."
—Edwidge Danticat, author of Claire of the Sea Light
“Very powerful poetry and prose...Moise takes up the complexities of Haitian culture, the immigrant experience, sexuality, gender and bearing witness.”
—Roxane Gay, author of An Untamed State
“Do you have the courage to read these fierce, intelligent, passionate, astounding poems that have the power to change your life? With a bold, unblinking eye, Lenelle Moïse shows us the tragic yet beautiful world in which we live and challenges us not to turn away, but to turn towards with hope, compassion, and love. With all my heart, I thank her for writing these poems.”
—Lesléa Newman, author of October Mourning, A Song for Matthew Shepard
“Lenelle Moïse’s poems render the abstract — policy, disaster, history, diaspora — specific. Her words make the political not just personal, but corporeal: the beautiful system of the human body as canvas and subject, perfect in all its attendant complications and complexity, and still ruled, undeniably, by a warm, beating heart.”
—Erin McKeown, musician
More Praise
“Palpable...grounded...vivid...
undeniably universal.” —SF Weekly
“You will not find many books of poetry as well crafted and as moving as this work by Lenelle Moïse. If you love good writing, if you love Haiti, if you love history, this book will satisfy some of that longing.” —Joseph Ross. More here.
About the Author
Lenelle Moïse is an award-winning poet, playwright, essayist and internationally touring performance artist who creates jazz-infused, hip-hop bred, politicized texts about identity, memory and magic. Her poems and essays are featured in several anthologies, including: Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution and We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists. Her writing has also been published in the Utne Reader, Make/Shift, Left Turn, and numerous other magazines and journals. A current Huntington Theatre Company Playwriting Fellow, her plays Womb-Words, Thirsting, Ache What Make, Expatriate, Matermorphosis, Purple and Cornered in the Dark have been produced across the country. She lives in Northampton, MA where she was the 2010-2012 Poet Laureate. Haiti Glass is her long-awaited first book.
Poetry in Performance
Lenelle Moïse author photo by Vanessa Vargas
poetry
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‣ Read more of Moïse’s writing in the following anthologies and journals:
