This is not the poetry of some academic white box of a classroom. It does not have the letters of MFA attached to it. Yes, it might have been born in a classroom many years ago but it has lived a tumultuous life and it has been reborn into the world with the purest intent. To live is to see and to see is to endure. This is the poetry of Carmen Aiken. It arrives like the bus pulling into the greyhound station, full of hope and possibilities. 
   Truong Tran, The Book of The Other, 100 Words 

I’m a long time fan of Carmen’s writing. Carmen has an incredible gift for putting words together in a way that makes your heart both burst and feel whole again. I highly recommend this book to any human trying to make sense of the strange and wonderful and aching experience of being alive. 
   Liz Fosslien, author and illustrator of Big Feelings and No Hard Feelings 

Reading Carmen’s work is like spending time with your wisest friend, who can capture both the bitter realities and lush moments of the world at once. We’re lucky to have it. 
   Yana Kunichoff, journalist and documentary producer, Arizona Luminaria

Carmen A. Aiken is a writer in Chicago, whose work has been published in The Best American Experimental Writing, .them, Welcome to Hell World, and a small collection of essays, In Which There Are Things I've Never Liked Explaining.