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I have an exciting (to me, anyway!) little something to share—The Wildness Oracle Deck! ✨🌝🔮I realized when working on Wildness Before Something Sublime that I was turning and turning around the same recurring images, and because the book is interested in dreams and the subconscious and intuition and the meaning we make from these things (hi, Jung), I wanted to explore more of what these images meant to me personally. Then, because the first section of the book is titled “Oracle,” it hit me—and so I made an oracle deck!

I spent a month this summer hand painting the 57 illustrations (which was a very fun exercise in thinking about image in a new way), and I’ve created an accompanying downloadable guidebook that has a traditional oracle guide (with meanings I see in these cards), as well as a guide of 57 poetry prompts designed for each of the cards for anyone wanting to use it to generate new work. Because that’s really what I’m interested in—making! And I hope this deck might help others make more, too.

I printed a small run of these, and if you’re interested, you can purchase them on my website, linked in my bio! And if you were one of the folks who bought an early deck at my launch (thank you!!!) send me an email so I can send you the PDF guidebook with the poetry prompts! ☺️💖

I have an exciting (to me, anyway!) little something to share—The Wildness Oracle Deck! ✨🌝🔮I realized when working on Wildness Before Something Sublime that I was turning and turning around the same recurring images, and because the book is interested in dreams and the subconscious and intuition and the meaning we make from these things (hi, Jung), I wanted to explore more of what these images meant to me personally. Then, because the first section of the book is titled “Oracle,” it hit me—and so I made an oracle deck!

I spent a month this summer hand painting the 57 illustrations (which was a very fun exercise in thinking about image in a new way), and I’ve created an accompanying downloadable guidebook that has a traditional oracle guide (with meanings I see in these cards), as well as a guide of 57 poetry prompts designed for each of the cards for anyone wanting to use it to generate new work. Because that’s really what I’m interested in—making! And I hope this deck might help others make more, too.

I printed a small run of these, and if you’re interested, you can purchase them on my website, linked in my bio! And if you were one of the folks who bought an early deck at my launch (thank you!!!) send me an email so I can send you the PDF guidebook with the poetry prompts! ☺️💖

I have an exciting (to me, anyway!) little something to share—The Wildness Oracle Deck! ✨🌝🔮I realized when working on Wildness Before Something Sublime that I was turning and turning around the same recurring images, and because the book is interested in dreams and the subconscious and intuition and the meaning we make from these things (hi, Jung), I wanted to explore more of what these images meant to me personally. Then, because the first section of the book is titled “Oracle,” it hit me—and so I made an oracle deck!

I spent a month this summer hand painting the 57 illustrations (which was a very fun exercise in thinking about image in a new way), and I’ve created an accompanying downloadable guidebook that has a traditional oracle guide (with meanings I see in these cards), as well as a guide of 57 poetry prompts designed for each of the cards for anyone wanting to use it to generate new work. Because that’s really what I’m interested in—making! And I hope this deck might help others make more, too.

I printed a small run of these, and if you’re interested, you can purchase them on my website, linked in my bio! And if you were one of the folks who bought an early deck at my launch (thank you!!!) send me an email so I can send you the PDF guidebook with the poetry prompts! ☺️💖

Hello hello! WILDNESS BEFORE SOMETHING SUBLIME is coming September 2, and I’m gearing up to do some traveling. I’d love to come see you, too, and am currently booking through next summer! If you’re interested in having me at your event, in person or virtual, send me an email (link’s in my bio!) and let’s chat! I promise I’m a lot of fun, and the book’s pretty good too. ☺️🩵🦢

VERY excited to share the cover for WILDNESS BEFORE SOMETHING SUBLIME!!! ❄️✨🥹

Wildness Before Something Sublime will be released in bookstores September 2, 2025, and is available for pre-order now!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
In dreams and memories, night poems and centos, Wildness Before Something Sublime emerges at the edge of language to excavate the body—its desires and griefs. Leila Chatti’s Wildness Before Something Sublime confronts a world defined by dualities—love and loss, wonder and despair, the gift of “sunflowers / by the roadside” and the pain of losing a pregnancy. “Night Poems,” written on the brink of sleep, travel the dream world and the subconscious mind to unearth the unfiltered self, to understand identity, desire, and the body. Other poems become acts of divination, calling on God and the Muse, calling on the voices of beloved women poets—Lucille Clifton, Anne Sexton, C.D. Wright—to comb through the dark. Chatti expertly grapples with the pain of what a body should but cannot do. Under the shifting weight of this grief, poems fragment, become ruptures of language, experimentations, refractions, a kaleidoscope of recurring sound and image. Snow, light, milk, clouds, silence. Behind every positive image, the shadow of its opposite, an echo of emotion. As Chatti bridges the gap between dream and language, the external and internal, a new world emerges—a world in which darkness is reclaimed.

Thank you so much to the team at @copper_canyon_press and designer Phil Kovacevich for making this book a reality! 🥹🩵🌚☁️🦢🌙🪾🪽❄️

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my PhD, and my apologies for the very delayed appreciation! I’ve spent the weeks since chronically offline, if that’s a thing, ha! ☺️ I know I’ve talked about this a good deal the last year, but I’ve increasingly moved my time and attention away from digital spaces—and I share this not for any kind of weird self-congratulatory virtue signaling, but for anyone who might be considering doing the same, because it’s really been a balm for my frazzled nerves and mind. I share this, too, to say I’m extremely out of the loop with all things social, and apologize for any major happenings I’ve missed in my absence. (Please send me a text or letter to catch up, friends! I miss you!) If someone wants to make a literary news & gossip mailer, I’d sign up for that. 😉

My small update about my life is that not much has happened, which is great! I’ve spent many of these days outside with Naï, or reading or crafting or playing games (including an excellent game of Scrabble with my in-laws, about which I have to include a mild boast about winning, ha!). We’ve spent every weekend this month with family, which has been a huge blessing. Life is good and the quiet kind of busy here. I’m intending to remain primarily offline this summer, but I’ll pop on to share pictures and poems and say hello! I’ll also soon be heading to teach in three (!) summer workshops, so looking forward to seeing some of you there! Until then, be well, and share with me any good reads or movies you’ve enjoyed lately! 🌷

“I will survive the wrong / I've done. All the love / that didn't serve me.”

— Leila Chatti (@laypay)

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Goatsong
by Leila Chatti

I will survive the wrong
I've done. All the love
that didn't serve me.
My youth used up
worshiping mercurial
myopics. I've cried a lot
very briefly. This sorrow has helped
make my career. Yes,
I'm a difficult person
to endure, I hardly manage.
Oh hum, the rest of my life
keeps coming. It feels just
like I knew it would.

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This poem appeared in Wildness Before Something Sublime by Leila Chatti, published by Copper Canyon Press (@copper_canyon_press), 2025. Shared here with deep gratitude.

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#readalittlepoetry #LeilaChatti #readalittlepoem #poetry #poetrydaily #readpoetry

After a long journey with so much wildly challenging and transformative living happening within/alongside, I am finally on the other side: today I passed my PhD comprehensive exams, meaning I am now, officially, ABD—all but dissertation! I have so much I could say but my mind’s a jumble of big feelings. What I will say is how incredibly grateful I am to have been guided through this process and inquiry by these brilliant, compassionate women—academia has not always supported women (to put it extremely mildly), especially in the study of my particular field of research. I am so grateful for the ways they have supported me as a writer and scholar, as well as a woman and mother, that these identities can, and do importantly, coexist. Thank you for encouraging me, affirming that, yes, the body—my body!—is a source of valuable knowledge. If ever anyone wants to chat about women’s illness and disability narratives, obsession, and poetic form, I’ve got a lot of thoughts and a lot of pages. 😊 But for now I’m going to rest—and then tomorrow get back to writing that book, so that I can be Dr. Chatti at last! 💕

After a long journey with so much wildly challenging and transformative living happening within/alongside, I am finally on the other side: today I passed my PhD comprehensive exams, meaning I am now, officially, ABD—all but dissertation! I have so much I could say but my mind’s a jumble of big feelings. What I will say is how incredibly grateful I am to have been guided through this process and inquiry by these brilliant, compassionate women—academia has not always supported women (to put it extremely mildly), especially in the study of my particular field of research. I am so grateful for the ways they have supported me as a writer and scholar, as well as a woman and mother, that these identities can, and do importantly, coexist. Thank you for encouraging me, affirming that, yes, the body—my body!—is a source of valuable knowledge. If ever anyone wants to chat about women’s illness and disability narratives, obsession, and poetic form, I’ve got a lot of thoughts and a lot of pages. 😊 But for now I’m going to rest—and then tomorrow get back to writing that book, so that I can be Dr. Chatti at last! 💕

After a long journey with so much wildly challenging and transformative living happening within/alongside, I am finally on the other side: today I passed my PhD comprehensive exams, meaning I am now, officially, ABD—all but dissertation! I have so much I could say but my mind’s a jumble of big feelings. What I will say is how incredibly grateful I am to have been guided through this process and inquiry by these brilliant, compassionate women—academia has not always supported women (to put it extremely mildly), especially in the study of my particular field of research. I am so grateful for the ways they have supported me as a writer and scholar, as well as a woman and mother, that these identities can, and do importantly, coexist. Thank you for encouraging me, affirming that, yes, the body—my body!—is a source of valuable knowledge. If ever anyone wants to chat about women’s illness and disability narratives, obsession, and poetic form, I’ve got a lot of thoughts and a lot of pages. 😊 But for now I’m going to rest—and then tomorrow get back to writing that book, so that I can be Dr. Chatti at last! 💕

Gengar is Naï’s first guest for tea 💜😈🫖

Finally finished Naï’s Eid present—a playroom! We had this weird little sort of closet space upstairs that I dreamed of transforming, and with lots of time and effort, we did! 99% of this was found second hand, over the course of a year or so, with the kitchen and the market stall found TOGETHER the last day of Ramadan when I stopped in to a second hand store on the way (I thought!) to IKEA to purchase that very play kitchen. An Eid miracle! ☺️ Thank you to Aric for the heavy lifting of the most boring parts of this labor of love. 😂 Swipe for the befores if you’re curious. 😉

Finally finished Naï’s Eid present—a playroom! We had this weird little sort of closet space upstairs that I dreamed of transforming, and with lots of time and effort, we did! 99% of this was found second hand, over the course of a year or so, with the kitchen and the market stall found TOGETHER the last day of Ramadan when I stopped in to a second hand store on the way (I thought!) to IKEA to purchase that very play kitchen. An Eid miracle! ☺️ Thank you to Aric for the heavy lifting of the most boring parts of this labor of love. 😂 Swipe for the befores if you’re curious. 😉

Finally finished Naï’s Eid present—a playroom! We had this weird little sort of closet space upstairs that I dreamed of transforming, and with lots of time and effort, we did! 99% of this was found second hand, over the course of a year or so, with the kitchen and the market stall found TOGETHER the last day of Ramadan when I stopped in to a second hand store on the way (I thought!) to IKEA to purchase that very play kitchen. An Eid miracle! ☺️ Thank you to Aric for the heavy lifting of the most boring parts of this labor of love. 😂 Swipe for the befores if you’re curious. 😉

Finally finished Naï’s Eid present—a playroom! We had this weird little sort of closet space upstairs that I dreamed of transforming, and with lots of time and effort, we did! 99% of this was found second hand, over the course of a year or so, with the kitchen and the market stall found TOGETHER the last day of Ramadan when I stopped in to a second hand store on the way (I thought!) to IKEA to purchase that very play kitchen. An Eid miracle! ☺️ Thank you to Aric for the heavy lifting of the most boring parts of this labor of love. 😂 Swipe for the befores if you’re curious. 😉

Finally finished Naï’s Eid present—a playroom! We had this weird little sort of closet space upstairs that I dreamed of transforming, and with lots of time and effort, we did! 99% of this was found second hand, over the course of a year or so, with the kitchen and the market stall found TOGETHER the last day of Ramadan when I stopped in to a second hand store on the way (I thought!) to IKEA to purchase that very play kitchen. An Eid miracle! ☺️ Thank you to Aric for the heavy lifting of the most boring parts of this labor of love. 😂 Swipe for the befores if you’re curious. 😉

If I didn’t get to see you in Baltimore, I might still be coming your way! A couple events bopping around the country in the next month (before I hunker down for exams! 🫣). Starting tonight in Forest Grove! Come say hi! 💫

Honored to have this “too much” sonnet up at @poetsorg for today’s Poem of the Day (thank you to the wonderful @dlameris for curating)! I wrote it after Wordsworth’s poem of the same title, and it contains his same first line and end words. A little funny to be sharing it on the very thing I’m side-eying, but, hey, what can we do. 🙃😉🌍

Honored to have this “too much” sonnet up at @poetsorg for today’s Poem of the Day (thank you to the wonderful @dlameris for curating)! I wrote it after Wordsworth’s poem of the same title, and it contains his same first line and end words. A little funny to be sharing it on the very thing I’m side-eying, but, hey, what can we do. 🙃😉🌍

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

The dreamiest of dreamy AWPs with the best babes and baby! To be truthful, I came in with some big anxieties—returning to Writer World with a new baby and book, after spending much time offline and disconnected, had me feeling uncertain and self-conscious and very wary. But holy wow, I had no idea how much joy was waiting for me. 🥹 Thank you to all of the people, every single conversation and hug and smile, who made me feel so incredibly welcomed and loved—as I told Aric, I felt this deep, deep sense of belonging, something I haven’t felt in a long time, anywhere, in all these years of tumult and fear and isolation. It’s a brutal world and I am so grateful for these moments in which I can feel safe, and loved, and even hopeful. This joy will live in me for a long time. Thank you all, truly, and much, much love. 🥰💗💗💗💗💗

What a dreamy #AWP26 so far! ✨ WILDNESS BEFORE SOMETHING SUBLIME is sold out at the @copper_canyon_press table (thank you!!! 🥹🥰), but if you’re looking for a copy, I’ll have some today in my traveling bookmobile (stroller 😜)! I also have some oracle decks, for anyone disinclined to pay for shipping. 😉 Say hi if you see me floating in the bookfair! 💫📚