When We Talk of Stolen Sisters:
New and Revised Poems by Jessica Doe
Cover Art: “Warm Stratis” by Brenda Mallory
Cover design by Benjamin Gorman
Available now! This collection of Jessica Doe (nee Mehta)’s powerful, beautiful, vulnerable work spans “from dates so long ago I can’t even recall” to her most current poetry in the midst of a pandemic. Her poems call our attention to the unsung disappearance of Indigenous women, the cultural genocide that still continues, the eating disorders that consume us from within, and to love, family, and the courageous choice to see the world from a different angle in the face of death.
“Mehta’s immense attention to detail in diction and form, tokens of homage to other artists, and ability to write in diverse voices and styles shows how much education, experience, and deep care Mehta has invested into these poems. The poet and the poems have book smarts and street smarts, and that combination makes this collection completely uncontainable … Mehta overflows with life, and we are lucky that the spillage produced these poems.”
-Linzi Garcia, author of Thank You
“…visceral, sensual, and raw, built from language that is unafraid to split open and show its entrails, to display the muscle of the heart that makes it tick. With arresting imagery and deft wordplay, Mehta wrestles with the demons of loss, death, body image, aging, eating disorders, and the complexity of relationships with lovers, parents, and one’s self.”
-Brittney Corrigan, author of Breaking and Daughters
“Poems that dare to be this open are a testament to the conviction that human connections come from a willingness to be known. Mehta’s courage, over and over, to reveal her true self, makes reading her work feel like discovering someone who has been a friend for decades and remembering how much you deeply admire her.”
-Benjamin Gorman, author of When She Leaves Me