Conjoining

by Heidi Czerwiec

“Erudite, sad, funny, and grounded in significant historical research, Heidi Czerwiec’s Conjoining offers portraits of a diverse cast of characters. We meet a woman with a phantom pregnancy of quintuplets, fetal cells made mutant by radiation or toxic chemicals or thalidomide, and in an ambitious poetic sequence, we are introduced to A-ké and P, his “Parasitic Twin.” This is risky subject matter. A less skillful poet might turn such material into freak show. But Czerwiec—both formally rigorous and empathetic—ensures that we are moved not horrified by the many kinds of monsters that can be birthed, that birth itself can be monstrous, and that motherhood can turn mothers into monstrosities.” – Jehanne Dubrow, author of Dots & Dashes and Home Front

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published November 14, 2017