Inevitable
by Jennifer Maritza McCauley
Welcome to SWWIM Every Day’s annual Miami Book Fair preview. Every day, we’re featuring a video by a woman-identifying writer appearing at Miami Book Fair 2024. Enjoy this taste of poetry, sponsored by Miami Book Fair and SWWIM. We look forward to seeing you at the Fair!
Appearance at Miami Book Fair 2024: Jennifer Maritza McCauley, Saturday, 11/23/2023, 3:30 pm, Room 8303
Transcript of poem Before the mirage, I see the zigzagging slap of sun It’s an easy light, rocking back and forth Look, I see this as a simple art: The bright on the summer porch rails, the moon hand-clamping the veranda the night sky keeps talking about morning; I’m just a little child witnessing this all. What to do when the sun is setting? What to do when the inevitable comes? I’ve spent my life counting time like pennies in my Mami’s cocina mason jar But I know no matter what, the next moment comes
Jennifer Maritza McCauley is the author of SCAR ON/SCAR OFF, When Trying to Return Home, and Kinds of Grace. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Kimbilio, and CantoMundo, and her work has been a New York Times Editors’ Choice, Best Fiction Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, and a Must-Read by Elle, Latinx in Publishing, Ms. Magazine, and Southern Review of Books. She is fiction editor at Pleiades, has been faculty at Yale Writers' Workshop and Yale Young Writers' Workshop and is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
This poem first appeared in the Afro-Hispanic Review. Permission granted by the poet.
12/12 / Poetry Reading and Conversation with visiting poet-in-residence Nicole Cooley + local writer Caroline Cabrera / The Gallery at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7-8:30 pm EST / Free
Two workshops remain in our Workshop Series--SWWIM Lessons: From Prompt to Placement: “Navigating Your Manuscript with Alexandra Lytton Regalado – What I learned from reading for (and winning) the National Poetry Series” on 11/12 (register here) and “Surfing Submittable with Jen Karetnick – Keeping your head above water in the poetry submissions process” on 12/10 (register here). Price: $80/workshop. Time: 7:00–9:00 PM (EST). Where: Zoom.
Note: SWWIM Every Day is now accepting poetry translations for publication consideration. Please see swwim.org/submit for the full guidelines.
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