Where we belong? Who and what defines who we are? "Inherent" is a moving chapbook by Lucía Orellana-Damacela, diving deep into the scents and sounds of home. Reading this collection felt familiar and comforting. Rarely can poets capture love in a way which feels universal.
Lucía Orellana-Damacela talks about this collection:
My Writing and Influences in Connection to the Book
Inherent took shape by assembling and re-working a series of poems I wrote between 2015 and 2017. I drew this book to reflect (on) the ongoing conversation between childhood memories and life transitions, including starting my own family far away from my home country, and having lived in three (or four, depending on how you count them) continents.
Immersed in nature, the powerful and beautiful totality to which we belong, Inherent traverses geographical and affective landscapes, inspired, largely, by the women in my lineage, particularly my grandmothers and my mother.
Born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, I often crave marine sights, smells and sounds, and the sea is a recurring presence in my poetry. Growing up, Machado, Lorca, Neruda, Mistral, and Darío were my poetic heroes. I also find inspiration in the ‘tell it slant’ poetry of Emily Dickinson, in the gaps, juxtapositions and line control of Rae Armantrout, and enjoy and admire the poetry of Nicole Sealey, Carl Phillips, Cecilia Vicuña, and many other contemporary poets.
Bio:
Lucía Orellana-Damacela is the author of the poetry book Sea of Rocks (Unsolicited Press, 2018), and the chapbooks Longevity River (Plan B Press, 2019) and Life Lines, which won The Bitchin' Kitsch Chapbook Competition (2018). Lucía's work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize; her poetry, prose and translations have appeared in more than twelve countries in both English and Spanish. Some of the venues in which her work has been or will be published are Tin House Online, Carve Magazine, The Bitter Oleander, Into the Void, Orbis, Fly on the Wall, Eye Flash Poetry, Ink Sweat & Tears, and The Acentos Review. Lucía holds a PhD in Social Psychology from Loyola University Chicago, tweets at @lucyda, and blogs at notesfromlucia.wordpress.com.
Look out for this gorgeous collection in November 2020!
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