The Rhizome as a Field of Broken Bones

Overview

A poetry collection about connectivity, this book suggests that humankind is linked by its concerns for global human rights and a sustainable global climate. Named for a root system that connects seemingly separate plants, like a stand of aspen trees, this compilation seeks to celebrate common human roots.

Reviews

“The poetry of Margaret Randall defies the lines on the map that represent the borders between nations, states, or territories. . . . If the poet’s curse is to make art inspired by what is found in the dark shadows of humankind, and use only the limited power of language to make a meaningful impact on the reader’s consciousness, then Margaret Randall is cursed... and this, her latest collection of poetry, is proof.”  —Richard Vargas, author, American Jesus

“Accompanied by the unflinching vision of this exquisite new volume of Margaret Randall’s poems, we are asked to enter the terror and magic of history in an active way. On this breathtaking journey, Randall dissolves any neat organization of time, as image after image from both recent and ancient history are revealed as rooted and spreading under our feet, reminding us where we walk. This is the poetry we fear and need, establishing in surprising language that the terrain of history is everywhere.”  —Anya Achtenberg, novelist, Blue Earth

"In this newest volume, Randall weaves together the concepts of memory, borders, and boundaries throughout the narrative, like lines on a map, routing the topography of her life experiences. Randall ignores chronology in favor of intrigue, and the dense, moving collection seamlessly flows from poem to poem. [...] In Randall, readers find a reassuring voice—a strong, assertive narrator whose bravery resonates." —Jacquelyn Lazo, ForeWord Reviews

Author Biography

Margaret Randall is a feminist poet, writer, photographer, and social activist. She is the author of more than 100 books, including Sandino's Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle, Stones Witnesses, and Their Backs to the Sea: Poems and Photographs, and the cofounder and coeditor of El Corno Emplumado/The Plumed Horn, a bilingual literary journal. She is also the first recipient of the PEN New Mexico's Dorothy Doyle Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing and Human Rights Activism. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.