Kendra DeColo can turn you on in one stanza and turn your stomach in the next — all with deliberate effect. In her third poetry collection I Am Not Trying to Hide My Hungers From the World, published by BOA Editions, she turns her lens toward motherhood, exorcising the usual tropes that often leave women feeling ashamed, inadequate and alone. Instead, she forges a more honest representation of the mother — one that is defiant, joyful and feminist. For those who aren’t mothers, the collection serves as a reminder that nothing is stopping us from transcending the cultural norms that entrap us in scarcity. That’s righteous.
Best New Poetry Collection
