...for their words, artwork, and photography offered in response to Digging Beneath Bones.

"What an incredible work here. Such territory covered. From generations’ history to the green and yellow kitchen, family memories and stories woven throughout. ['Digging Beneath the Bones'] is a song, a lament, a tribute, a B-side, a photo album, a celebration of all that makes up the bones of this woman’s strength and resolve. Or is it a black-and-white photograph, a folded love note to all where she’s been? It is all of these, and God bless this storyteller walking through the now empty green and yellow kitchen. Humming her songs of tribute and remembrance, wiping the counters, so clean, so lovingly, you know this space is sacred."

Ruth Forman, Poet-Children's Book Author-Teacher

To learn more about Ruth and her latest children's book, Do I Love You? Yes I Do! click here.

"teri elam goes digging beneath the bones to make a song of herself, her family, her people. She goes digging through trouble and tragedy, through family stories and the wreckage of love, to render a history that’s shot through with music. Here is sorrow made lyrical, tender and visceral, and joy, however muted, however dangerous, fully claimed. Here is how a family navigates estrangement and loss, becoming “each other’s echo,” “mirrors devouring each other’s reflection,” becoming, finally, “resplendent."

Cecilia Woloch, Poet-Writer-Teacher

Click here to find Cecilia's website and work.

"There are poets whose debuts announce themselves not with clamor but with an authority so assured, so undeniable, that the reader can only surrender. teri elam is such a poet. These extraordinary poems, formally daring and emotionally unflinching, confront the legacies of racism and identity, the complications of love, inheritance, and generational trauma through containment in searing formal vessels—golden shovel, ghazal, cento, and more. They dazzle, they devastate, they endure. Each poem interrogates the legacies we inherit and the small, miraculous ways we persevere—to encounter this work is to be changed forever."

Katherine Larson, Poet-Nonfiction Writer-Teacher

Katherine's website can be found here.

"'Digging Beneath Bones' will inspire its reader to excavate their own family story. There is something elegantly haunting about this body of work. It burrowed down and sits inside me like a novel. Since reading it, teri's book has prompted me to think about the ways in which certain fragrances, pieces of music, and sounds from childhood ignite memory or amplify loss. This exploration of family bonds continues to travel with me. What a lovely way to honor both the life and love of a mother as well as your own journey!"

Alice Y. Traore, Artist

To learn more about Alice's artwork, click here.

"This deeply personal collection of poems traces love, respect, devotion, and quiet heartbreak through a journey of unfathomable loss. These tender reflections explore the shifting bond between parent and child as roles reverse and time reshapes what remains. Elam has truly reminded me to hold my own mother’s hand even tighter. Brilliant!" 

Natalie Jackson, Photographer

To learn about Natalie and see her photography, click here.