No Fault of Water by Kelsey D. Mahaffey

“Mahaffey’s poetry sings in a voice that’s both ancient and thoroughly, devastatingly modern—exploring what it feels like to be a woman on earth as well as in spirit. She doesn’t shy away from the nitty-gritty, nor the sublime; She bears witness to all sides. These poems are as brave and as necessary as they are beautiful.”

–Anna Elise Anderson

“Reading this chapbook felt like stepping into a healing ritual—one that drew my body and spirit into full attention. With spare, piercing language, Mahaffey evokes the sensual, the sacred, and the sorrowful, reminding us how deeply we are shaped by what we dare to feel––and by the power of listening that is both attentive and attuned to what so often goes unsaid.”

–Jenny Hegland, Executive Director, The Good Listening Project

“In her gorgeous debut chapbook, Kelsey Mahaffey offers a haunting portrait of intimacy. Set against the moody backdrop of New Orleans, these poems not only chart the choppy waters of loving someone through alcoholism but also stand as a testament to strength and remarkable tenderness. In Mahaffey’s emotional landscapes, sorrow and beauty coexist and human spirit endures. These are generous, brave, lyrically astonishing poems that ask what we live in service of and what we’re willing to give for love. “Like a river lost in pursuit of the sea,” they carry us toward something vast and heartbreaking.”

–Andrea Jurjević, Author of Small Crimes and In Another Country