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Cutting the Stems
Cutting the Stems

Cutting the Stems

By Virginie Lalucq, Translated by Celine Bourhis, Translated by Claire McQuerry

0-3

POETRY

150 Pages, 5.5 x 7.5

Formats: Trade Paper, EPUB

Trade Paper, $18.00 (US $18.00) (CA $24.00)

Publication Date: October 2023

ISBN 9781947817586

Rights: US & CA

Saturnalia Books (Oct 2023)

eBook

eBook Editions Available

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Overview

A playful exploration of language, gender, and identity through experimental poetry.

Cutting the Stems, translated from the French, is a long poem that blends gardening manuals, etymological dictionaries, and gemstone guides into an "un-poetic" pastiche. Wordplay and linguistic borrowings create a surreal exchange between "she" and "he," blurring gender lines and questioning poetic norms. As the florist-speaker tends to words, cutting stems mirrors cutting language, allowing sentences to bloom.

This collection invites readers to:

  • Discover the instability of language.
  • Question poetic conventions.
  • Explore fluid identities.

Perfect for lovers of experimental literature and contemporary poetry, this dual-language edition enriches the experience. Experience the beauty of language with Virginie Lalucq's unique voice.

Author Biography

Virginie Lalucq was born in 1975 and lives in Paris. She is the author of Couper les tiges (Act Mem/ Comp’act, 2001) and Fortino Sámano, Les débordements du poème (with Jean-Luc-Nancy, Galilée 2004) translated by Sylvain Gallais and Cynthia Hogue (Omnidawn, 2012). She has been member of the editorial collective for the journal Nioques for twenty years. The Center for the Study of Poetry (ENS) in Lyons describes Lalucq’s poetry: "A certain desire to experiment characterizes her work, a desire that translates most clearly in the number of collaborative performances and writing projects." Céline Bourhis is a lecturer at Bradley University where she teaches global literature and technical writing courses. Her research interests include postcolonial studies, postmodern literature, and life writing. Prior to her teaching appointment, she worked as an editorial assistant at Dalkey Archive Press and published interviews with authors in Context. Claire McQuerry's poetry and translations have appeared in Denver Quarterly Review, Tin House, Gettysburg Review, Poetry Northwest, Permafrost, and other journals. Her poetry collection Lacemakers (Southern Illinois University Press) won the Crab Orchard First Book Prize and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. She has been the recipient of fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Sewanee Writers’ Workshop, the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prizes, and the Virgnia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. She is an Assistant Professor at Bradley University.