In Inheritance of Drowning - by Dorsía Smith Silva (Paperback)

About the Book

"Silva's poetry confronts Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the racial, social, and political injustices in the United States and highlights the "drowning" of BIPOC communities as they are displaced, exploited, and robbed of their identities."--Publisher description.

Book Synopsis

A memorable debut collection that explores colonial and generational trauma.

In this striking debut, Dorsía Smith Silva explores the devastating effects of Hurricane María in Puerto Rico, highlighting the natural world, the lasting impact of hurricanes, and the marginalization of Puerto Ricans. These poems also focus on the multiple sites of oppression in the United States, especially the racial, social, and political injustices that occur every day. Smith Silva writes with a powerful, gripping voice, confronting the "drowning" of disenfranchised communities as they are displaced, exploited, and robbed of their identities, but remain resilient. Written with unflinching language and vivid imagery, In Inheritance of Drowning reveals the many facets of the lives of marginalized people.

Review Quotes

"Dorsía Smith Silva's urgent yet timeless debut poetry collection is a powerful exploration of Hurricane María's lasting impact on Puerto Rico. Her riveting collection examines the 'Everyday Drownings' of marginalized people, racial injustice, and how the history of colonization continues to invade the present. By writing this important, layered collection of poetry that moves and transforms with gripping force, she reminds us of the power of resilience and what could be possible with social change."-- "Terrain.org"

"Smith Silva navigates the treacherous waters of displacement and survival in the wake of natural disaster in this luminous and innovative debut . . . With a finely tuned ear for rhythm and syntax, Smith Silva unearths unexpected beauty amid devastation, insisting on a resilience that envisions 'uncombed/ gardens last where only hurricanes stay.' This noteworthy collection bears unflinching witness to calamity while still kindling hope for renewal."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"In Inheritance of Drowning, Dorsía Smith Silva's powerful debut collection, trains a lens on the history and ecology of Puerto Rico and mainland US. In poems of ethical witness, Smith Silva documents the linkages between slavery and present-day police brutality and racism, between recent, devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean and colonialism, past and present. Wideseeing and searing, In Inheritance of Drowning looks unflinchingly at violence and iniquity while testifying to Black and Caribbean people's survival."--Shara McCallum, author of 'No Ruined Stone'

"In Dorsía Smith Silva's astonishing new collection, In Inheritance of Drowning, we encounter a voice that understands violence, silence, loss and the power of undertow. This is a voice that understands "fret" sounds like "forget," especially as winds and waves accrue, along with lost brown and black bodies. Page after page, this overwhelming rush of rivers and blood remind us we must not forget, as the list of names grow like a gathering storm, that those bodies whirl further and further away from their names."--Frances Richey, author of 'The Warrior: A Mother's Story of a Son at War' and 'The Burning Point'

About the Author

Dorsía Smith Silva is a Pushcart Prize nominee, Best of the Net finalist, Best New Poets nominee, Obsidian Fellow, poetry editor of The Hopper, and professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Her poetry has been published in the Denver Quarterly, Waxwing, Cream City Review, and elsewhere. She is the author of Good Girl, editor of Latina/Chicana Mothering, and the coeditor of seven books.