CROSSFIREA LITANY FOR SURVIVAL
WINNER OF A 2020 AMERICAN BOOK AWARD “Staceyann Chin’s Crossfire is a remarkable collection from a dynamic and talented writer, whose urgent storytelling and commanding voice feel vital for our times.” —EDWIDGE DANTICAT “With this astounding new collection of poems, Crossfire, it is evident that Staceyann Chin has come into her raw, sexual, revolutionary, poetic power. These poems are jet fuel from the hot center of the body—from rage, from sorrow, from pure, unmitigated life-force.” —EVE ENSLER “This book is irresistible. It hums / sings / talks / seduces us with words. Love. Information. Purpose. She recaptures / reminds us that we must answer that most important question if we are to live: what does it mean to be human? Her words help us to see a path. A future. A beginning. And we say as we read her book: I know why I be reading your poems. And we all say ¡Si se puede! Yes we can!” —SONIA SANCHEZ |
THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISEStaceyann Chin shares her unforgettable story of triumph against all odds in this brave and fiercely candid memoir.
No one knew Staceyann’s mother was pregnant until a dangerously small baby was born on the floor of her grandmother’s house in Jamaica, on Christmas Day. Staceyann’s mother did not want her, and her father was not present. No one, except her grandmother, thought Staceyann would survive. It was her grandmother who nurtured and protected and provided for Staceyann and her older brother in the early years. But when the three were separated, Staceyann was thrust, alone, into an unfamiliar and dysfunctional home in Paradise, Jamaica. . Told with grace, humor, and courage, Chin plumbs tender and unsettling memories as she writes about drifting from one home to the next, coming out as a lesbian, finding the man she believes to be her father, and ultimately, discovering her voice. |