Blog

new from above/ground press: abject sutures, by Melissa Eleftherion

abject sutures
melissa eleftherion
$5

SHELL

six little explosions
“under a glass bell”
how we’re taught
to contain
the abject
little burst sutures
in ammonite

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
March 2024
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Melissa Eleftherion(she/they) is a writer, a librarian, and a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, she holds degrees from Brooklyn College, Mills College, and San Jose State University. They are the author of the full-length poetry collections, field guide to autobiography (The Operating System, 2018), & gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024), as well as twelve chapbooks including trauma suture (above/ground press, 2020), & sunflower spell (poems-for-all, 2022).  Her work has been widely published & featured in venues like Quarter after Eight, Sixth Finch, Entropy, & Barren Magazine. Melissa now lives in Northern California where she manages the Ukiah Branch Library, curates the LOBA Reading Series, and serves as Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Ukiah. Recent work is available at www.apoetlibrarian.wordpress.com.

This is Eleftherion’s third chapbook with above/ground press, after little ditch (2018) and trauma suture (2020).

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

https://abovegroundpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/new-from-aboveground-press-abject.html

Reflections

I don’t like the word pivot, and I really don’t like pivoting, but in hindsight, I realize I did a lot of it in 2023. 

When my 2nd poetry book finally got accepted for publication after 4 years of sending it out, I made the difficult decision to decline the press’ offer after they refused to sign a contract & designed a mediocre cover. Eight months later, I received a 2nd offer for the book & I feel it’s in great hands with a great small press. 

When I realized I didn’t have the money to travel to Italy for a family reunion after months of planning & booking travel, I eventually realized I could instead take my son to New York to introduce him to his roots while also touring colleges, sightseeing, & visiting family. We took our first solo trip together and had an amazing time. 

When my toxic boss went full Umbridge & campaigned to make everyone hate her, I got the union involved, supported & advocated for the staff, documented every last detail, and the workers prevailed. My stomach is no longer in knots, and I no longer have anxiety attacks at work. 

I received 135 rejections in 2023, and 14 acceptances which is not a great ratio. I spent time feeling depressed & sad about the rejections, and couldn’t write, so I channeled my frustration & procrastination into a submissions machine which became an ouroboros of despair. Go, poetry. 

As for my writing life, I finished my 3rd full-length poetry collection which is based on the Major Arcana of the Tarot & corresponds each card with a scientific principle or idea. I submitted the manuscript for Tarot Biota to a publisher, and am about 2/3 into a 4th full-length poetry collection based on the Minor Arcana & its correspondences. I am also ⅔ done with another 5th manuscript of erasures based on the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series. 

I read 78 books, studied herbal remedies, did a bunch of poetry readings, joined a great supportive writing workshop with fellow women poets, deepened my understanding of the tarot, showed art at Medium Gallery, finished my term as Ukiah Poet Laureate, adopted a sweetie of a dog with a barking problem, and ran up a lot of credit card debt. 

Looking ahead to 2024, I’d like to spend less time feeling harried & trying to accomplish so much, and more time nourishing myself & others. Being neurodiverse, this is easier said than done, but I hope to remember to slow down & savor more of this weird little life.     

Petaluma Poetry Walk reading

I’m looking forward to reading at Artaluma for the Petaluma Poetry Walk on Sunday, Sept. 17th! It feels a bit full circle as the first time I visited Petaluma was in 2004-5 for a special one-day writing workshop Diane (diPrima) was teaching at Geri DiGiorno’s house. Geri DiGiorno (Sonoma County poet laureate emerita) founded the Walk in 1996, and curated the series until she passed away in 2019. Bill Vartnaw (current PPW Curator & Sonoma County poet laureate emerita) was also a longtime student of Diane’s, along with Jack Crimmins, who will also be reading at the Walk, and is a master storyteller who weaves bop prosody & mysticism in clear & compelling insights about consciousness. He’ll be reading from his new book The Edge of Rain, and I will read a selection of poems from field guide to autobiography, gutter rainbows, and the new book, Tarot Biota: A Map of Belonging. Hope to see you there!

sunflower spell

Gratitude to Robert Hansen aka the mastermind behind Poems-For-All for inviting me to write a poem for Ukraine. It was an honor to accept the invitation to be part of this important series of works, and a learning opportunity to do a deep study of both Ukraine & the sunflower. Many thanks for these little books that sing & delight in their form & rigor. How they remind me of a child’s game we once played on the sidewalks of Bensonhurst, telling fortunes, & cackling secrets.

Learn more about poems-for-all & the great work they do.