Last Will and Best Guesses
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Publisher: Finishing Line Press
Publish Date: September 23, 2022
Pages: 46
Dimensions: 5.5 X 8.5 X 0.11 inches | 0.15 pounds
Language: English
Type: Paperback
EAN/UPC: 9781646629770
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$19.00 each includes postage
Sample Poem
Fade
I’m practically an ancestor ––
One foot in the shallows,
the other salty deep.
Yellowed pearly wisdoms.
Sinew stretched past spry.
A barnacled demeanor.
A head of greying whispers.
A lifetime strewn on the path
to who knows where or why.
Sand bags stowed
beneath the eyes
hold remnants of the sorrow.
Tomorrow is no guarantee.
Children singing
make me weep. As does the clarity of sky.
And all that shines
bejeweled beneath.
_______________________
Reviews
Deborah Jang knows the terrain of the human heart. In Last Will and Best Guesses she offers an unflinching meditation on mortality and mystery. Jang taps into our shared experiences-from raging pandemic to racial reckonings to environmental crises to the plights of refugees. She writes candidly about the workings of her mind, which are the unspeakable workings of ours too. She muses on connections and consciousness that alter and deepen through recent and ongoing trauma and settles into grace. This is a rich, relatable book of poetry to pull out again and again.
-Terra Trevor is the author of a diverse body of work and a contributor to 15 books including Take A Stand: Art Against Hate.
Deborah Jang writes through a raging global pandemic, when a "planet [is] spinning off its axis," gathering strength to face its uncertainties and attendant anti-Asian violence and sentiment. This is a reserve, for herself, and future generations, and I am nourished by her work.
-Diana Khoi Nguyen is a poet and multi-media artist whose book, Ghost Of, was a 2018 finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry.
"Mind bent, nose blown, fingers crossed./Head bowed, going home."Deborah Jang writes to the rhythm of life while examining death and all its intricacies. This chapbook is an exhale and a deep breath.
-Vogue M. Robinson is the author of Vogue 3:16 (2014) and served as Poet Laureate (2017-2019) for Clark County, Nevada.