TO TRACY LIKE / TO LIKE / LIKE

by Tracy Dimond

TO TRACY LIKE / TO LIKE / LIKE is a limited edition, handmade book designed as an accordion fold. Composed as emails sent from herself, to herself, the poem is a long-form meditation on the ramifications of existing as female-bodied (and bodied in general) in contemporary society. It explores the ubiquitousness of sexism, fears about vulnerability and health, and the political act that is simply staying alive.

excerpt from TO TRACY LIKE / TO LIKE / LIKE:
To ME:
I don’t want to be fragile.
How can I be gentle?
Your wound may be known,
but you are not vulnerable.

To TRACY:
Someone asked me if I was a student,
then yelled at me because I was not.
I will not apologize for your expectation.
Value exists within your bitcoin account.
Ownership lies in subjective rules.
Like, buying a street is cheaper than buying a house.

To ME:
Linda asked what will you write about when you’re old?
I said whatever, they better listen.
They as in everyone.
Bodies are not quiet.
She looked like Madonna the other night
in the I will not apologize for being me way.
I intend to wear my wrinkles like young women wear chokers:
Bright and uneven.

Order here: https://squareup.com/store/akinoga-pr...

Unknown Binding

Published May 1, 2018

About the author

Tracy Dimond is a 2016 Baker Artist Award finalist. She is the author of the full length poetry collection, Emotion Industry (Barrelhouse), and four chapbooks, including: TO TRACY LIKE / TO LIKE / LIKE (akinoga press) and Sorry I Wrote So Many Sad Poems Today (Ink Press), winner of Baltimore City Paper’s Best Chapbook. She holds her MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore.