not my daughter

not my daughter is a mesmerizing collection of 44 poems that are part confessional part documentary part analytical lyric exploration of the adoption system part Southern Baptist parentage and queer identity narrative part psychedelic sensual love story of the self and others part meditation on grief within a complicated relationship part part part. As you will find throughout this is my body / broken for you it contains multitudes.. Jessie is a poetic auteur of technical brilliance singular personality and deep interior meaning who immerses the reader in a universe through the use of her textured world.. When we read these luminous poems filled with beauty and grief and desire we learn ways to examine ourselves our relationships and others through new perspectives. We are able to glean many truths such as how Death and life both crave / clarity light or how We are always clamoring aggregating / attaching hoping we aren't really alone / striving toward impossible satiation.. ---. “With crisp lyricism and narration not my daughter slices dogma and illuminates the power of resiliency. This book is a must-have for living in this world and claiming your sexuality your name your life no matter what. Jessie’s poems redefine daughterhood and embrace what we humans long for always love.”. –Thea Matthews author of Unearth the Flowers. “This debut collection presents a brilliant examination of three languages: heritage erasure and wonder. Here you’ll see a poet in the crossfire of the human experience. This work cuts with precision crafting a map that resonates with raw authenticity. Jessie weaves a narrative that is both haunting and deeply moving. This book is a must-read.”. –Antony Fangary author of Haram. “The queer-adopted-kid-poet-who-teaches-creative-writing in me swoons over the brilliant craft and the precise play with language. I’ll return to this collection again and again. I want to use every poem as an example of “this is how you truth.” These poems give us somewhere to belong and make us feel less alone.”. –Su Flatt Columbus-based writer & educator. “Jessie’s lines of poetry are glass castles; ready to shatter over you again and again. She elicits a yearning that is delicate and eternal from tender moments that can make—or break—a life: a ripped saccharine packet lying prostrate on a table a fork scraping the rim of a plate the pluck of fishnet threads marking a thigh.”. –Andrea Passwater Oakland-based writer