Feet Tucked Under by Aviva Siegel

In this collection, poems mirror and oppose each other—ancient Jewish texts and tradition coexist alongside the hubbub of modern family life; tenderness and longing alongside foreshadowed regret and loss; the horrors of terrorism beside the making of bread. That wit and humor exist with yearning for relief from, and deep commitment to, the quotidian is this poet’s enviable gift. There is a long matriarchal line of which Aviva Siegel is a part but there is no voice of motherhood like hers. She is descended from the grit and wisdom of the Old Testament’s Sarah and Hagar, and she is determined, in beautifully crafted and original narratives, to be certain the lineage of strong and gentle women, exhausted and devoted mothers, female speakers of truth and resilience, is not forgotten— that it is, in fact, ignited and redefined in this welcoming debut.

–Barbara Rockman—author of “Sting and Nest,” winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and “to cleave,” winner of the National Press Women Book Prize and Finalist for the International Book Award