Open The Fist
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In Open The Fist, the poet navigates the primal impulses of sexuality, violation and reclamation. She shines a light into the dark corners of her family dynamics, grappling with what it means to be born a girl, to survive into womanhood and to look back. These poems bear witness to the healing power of truth-telling. Childhood trauma may cast its long shadow, but through the alchemy of poetry, Braden transforms her past into a path to forgiveness. In the end, the reader celebrates with the poet as she exclaims: "Risk the ricochet of fate/taunt the gods/with your raucous joy!"
Elya Braden
Elya Braden is a writer and mixed-media artist living in Ventura County, CA. She is the Founder and President of HaGomel, a nonprofit providing expressive arts programs for women who have experienced trauma and is an editor for Gyroscope Review. She is the author of the chapbooks Open The Fist and The Sight of Invisible Longing. Her work has been published in Anthropocene, Pine Row Press, Rhino, South Florida Poetry Journal, The Shore, Thimble, Wild Roof Journal, and elsewhere. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets. Visit her online at elyabraden.com.
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