Karankawa

by Iliana Rocha

Karankawa is a collection that explores some of the ways in which we (re)construct our personal histories. Rich in family narratives, myths, and creation stories, these are poems that investigate passage—dying, coming out, transforming, being born—as well as the gaps that also reside in our stories, for, as Rocha suggests, the opportunity to create myths is provided by great silences. Much like the Karankawa Indians whose history works in omissions, Karankawa reconfigures such spaces, engaging with the burden and freedom of memory in order to rework and recontextualize private and public mythologies. First and last, these are poems that honor our griefs and desires, for they keep alive the very things we cannot possess.

Genres: Poetry

74 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2015

About the author

Iliana Rocha is an American poet and writer from Texas. She is the 2019 winner of the Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry for her newest collection, The Many Deaths of Inocencio Rodriguez, Karankawa, her debut, won the 2014 AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015). The recipient of a 2020 CantoMundo fellowship and 2019 MacDowell fellowship, she has had work featured or forthcoming in the Best New Poets 2014 anthology, as well as Poetry, Poem-a-Day, The Nation, Virginia Quarterly Review, Latin American Literature Today, Oxford American, and Blackbird among others, and she serves as Poetry Co-Editor for Waxwing Literary Journal. She earned her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from Western Michigan University and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her three chihuahuas Nilla, Beans, and Migo are the loves of her life.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such outstanding, intimate, gritty poetry! This is definitely one that will stay with me for years to come and will be a re-read at some point.

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5

[audrey bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed this book. read it in one sitting.

[Drunken_orangetree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, if challenging, poetry. Confessional I suppose; ethnically rooted, but with lots of pop references.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful poetry that makes the reader think about identity, and what it means to be human in a world that wants perfection. Love the themes of culture and language throughout, with a great mix of pop culture!