Bodylines by Tereza Joy Kramer

The archetypal mother reins in literature:kind, gentle, caring, (nearly) divine, nurturing in selflessness until the self disappears.In Bodylines, Tereza Joy Kramer shatters these carefully constructed images of motherhood like so many shards of stained glass; she complicates and enriches what it means to be and see as woman.She holds pieces up to the light, showing us what can be redeemed and what cannot. As poet, she does the hard, brave work of feeling, knowing, and crafting for the reader; do not turn away:”No one / gets to be raw alone.”

–Raina J. León, author of sombra : (dis) locate

In these elegant, accessible poems, Tereza Joy Kramer explores the world’s frail beauty and its constantvulnerabilities. This poet is not afraid to engage our emotions, to make ussee the ghosts of past and present, giving us hope but never allowing her poemsto sugarcoat life’s harsher realities. She’s a poet who sees the world steadily, writing of both its maternal joy and its persistent solitude. Read this chapbook for its clear-eyed vision, its practical wisdom, and enjoy the journey Tereza Joy Kramer takes us through in herpoems of candid and complexfemaleexperience.

–Allison Joseph, author of Mercurial