Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere - by Anastacia-Renee (Paperback)

About the Book

"In this bold hybrid collection of poetry and micro-flash fiction, the award-winning, interdisciplinary writer, and author of Side Notes from the Archivist explores what happens when god is a Black woman in a town and multiple universes in the middle of nowhere? What if god were a Black woman? What if there were other universes, and in each universe other Black woman gods? One million versions of god, and one million saints to watch over us? And what if this Black woman god was placed here on our earth? These are just a few of the questions Anastacia-Reneâe asks in this daring and mind-bending hybrid collection. A compelling blend of poetry, micro-flash fiction, and sci-fi Afrofuturism with a prose storyline and characters that connect through family, time, and place. Anastacia-Reneâe paints world(s) rich with wonder and and the paranormal as she peers into the lives of the everyday people and the spectacular creatures inhabiting not just our neighborhoods, but other dimensions. Hers is a universe of striking variety-monsters, nontraditional saints, witches, zombies, the couple in the apartment next door, the wise elders from down the block, and gods watching over us all-as well as community and connectedness. Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere is about interstellar ancestry, community and spirituality, about the things we invoke conjure and rely on to maintain our unwavering joy as we move through life. Anastacia-Reneâe's power lies in her spellbinding storytelling-her ability to bring forth lovingly rendered characters captured in powerful brief bursts of lyrical poetry, her ability to build worlds, within worlds and the ways in which she dares us to fully love ourselves and see each other in all our complexity"--

Book Synopsis

In this bold hybrid collection of poetry, flash fiction, and Afrofuturism sci-fi, the award-winning interdisciplinary writer and author of Side Notes from the Archivist explores what happens when god is a Black woman in a town. What happens when there are multiple universes in the middle of nowhere?

And what if in each universe there reigned other Black woman gods? One million versions of god, and one million saints to watch over us? And what if this Black woman god were placed here on earth?

These are just a few of the questions Anastacia-Reneé asks in this daring and mind-bending hybrid collection. Hers is a universe of striking variety--monsters, nontraditional saints, witches, zombies, the couple in the apartment next door, the wise elders from down the block, and gods watching over us all--as well as community and connectedness.

With a prose storyline and characters that connect through family, time, and place, Anastacia-Reneé paints world(s) rich with wonder and the paranormal as she peers into the lives of everyday people and spectacular creatures inhabiting not just our neighborhoods, but other dimensions. Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere is about interstellar ancestry, community and spirituality. It is about the things we invoke, conjure, and rely on to maintain joy as we keep it moving through difficult eras. Anastacia-Reneé's power imbues her spellbinding storytelling with lovingly rendered characters brought to life in lyrical poetry. She builds worlds within worlds and dares us to fully see and love ourselves in all our complexity.

Review Quotes

"In Anastacia-Reneé's hands, everything 'above & below & in the middle' is teeming with life--stretching beyond the margin--vintage and young at the same time. A gumbo both peaceful and pleasureful and impossibly wrought with the pain of context and intention. The poems of everything, everywhere, all at once. And ain't that the Blackest, most alive thing to behold?" -- Aurielle Marie, author of Gumbo Ya Ya

"The poetic verve that Anastacia-Reneé has brought to Side Notes from the Archivist is now brought beautifully and vividly to bear in Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere. This is conjure prose, passages and stories invoking ancestral voices, voices layered, down deep and up soaring, longing, loving, living and not living . . . This is bold invocation. You've been called."
-- Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company

"Anastacia-Reneé's extraordinary, intriguing, afrofuturistic, and mystical collection explores family, community, grief, and love." -- Booklist

"An exploration of the mystic within community, told through poetry and flash fiction... Best when read aloud, this narrative can be taken in small quantities as individual narrators tell their stories or taken as one whole, greater than the many stories contained within." -- Kirkus Reviews

Reneé's poetry and flash fiction runs the whole emotional gamut. . . What comes from all of these stories, bound together by lucile and her sisters, is a sense of community saturated with tenderness, disappointment, pain and happiness. It's marvellous." -- Locus