Rivering
Kimberly L. Becker
ISBN 978-1-963908-85-5 90 pages $18.00
Rivers flow in Kimberly L. Becker’s poems. The words and images come together from a land of disappeared, drowned places in song like water, telling stories and singing songs of justice, reparation, remembrance and blood. Becker’s voice resounds in the open places of these poems.
Jamie Parsley, North Dakota Associate Poet Laureate, author of Salt and Echo
We are all drowning sometimes, sinking under the water, but with Kimberly Becker’s Rivering we are reminded that we are also often looking up for the light. You’ll find yourself reading through the occasionally murky water to understand the past but in a liminal way. Reading about both the river’s, and into our own pasts, we can understand our futures. Looking closely can show us the river’s own terrible historical beauty, and can also be transformative. There is love and longing in what results. We river along with Becker and feel her angst but also, importantly, the love. Don’t forget to look up through the water. Maybe we haven’t been sinking under but slowly floating up the whole time.
Chris Arvidson, author of Nobody Cares What You Think
Kimberly L. Becker’s sixth poetry book flows with meaning and quiet emotion as she carries us along on her personal explorations and reflections regarding place, connection, language, love, and tribal history. “[T]he river is Indigenous, / sinuous, ingenious / Always flowing ...” This is a rich, moving read —insightful in depth and defiant in spirit.
Deborah Jang, author of Float True and Last Will and Best Guesses
Of mixed descent, including Cherokee, Kimberly L. Becker’s other poetry collections are Words Facing East and The Dividings (WordTech Editions), The Bed Book and Bringing Back the Fire (Spuyten Duyvil), and Flight (MadHat Press). Poetry Daily featured “Rivering,” the title poem from this sixth book. Her seventh manuscript is based on the Cherokee Uktena story and is forthcoming from MadHat Press. Her work appears widely, including Indigenous Message on Water, Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence, Tending the Fire: Native Voices and Portraits, Unpapered: Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging, and 23 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries.
kimberlylbecker.com