ECHOES OF LIFE: Poems of Power, Parenthood & Perspective | Busboys & Poets

Of Tyrant by Leah Umansky

What does it mean to live in a country at war within itself-politically, spiritually, psychologically? Where does this sickness originate? In poems both personal and sweeping in scope, Umansky opens the door to all the possible answers, pointing outward but also to the twists and turns of our collective psyche. Read this book if you are brave, if our future frightens you, if you love this world we live in.

Surfacing by Emily Tuszynska

The poems in Surfacing, Emily Tuszynska’s debut collection, follow a woman into the wilderness of childbirth and child raising, chronicling the fleeting moments of early motherhood. In the pages of the book, the faces of two boys come swimming up from a block of marble beneath the hands of a 15th century sculptor, the world seems to spring into being as a young couple descends from an icy mountain into a lush green valley, and a family grows, child by child by child, in a small suburban house on the edge of the natural world.

What Monsters You Make of Them by Christian Teresi

Stand astonished at a painting, venerate the mugshot of a poet, riff on a comedian’s quip, and recall a mentor persevering through grief. Speak of headhunters, of word origins, of saints and gods stitched into a newfound pantheon, of the multiverse as a source of reincarnation. Visit ancient cities, national parks, a sundry of gardens, and the ruins of a farmhouse. A teacher fails to help a student. A student explains war to her teacher. Seize back the forgotten. Kneel to not knowing. Interrogate ecology and injustice through shifting landscapes and know What Monsters You Make of Them. 

Leah Umansky, Emily Tuszynska, and Christian Teresi are joining us on the Busboys stage to read from their collections and dive deeper into the themes explored in them. Copies of the books will be available for purchase during and after the event, and the poets will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 5:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of OF TYRANT, SURFACING, and WHAT MONSTERS YOU MAKE OF THEM will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed. 

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Leah Umansky is the author of three collections of poetry, most recently, Of Tyrant (Word Works Books, 2024.) She earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and has curated and hosted COUPLET Reading Series in New York City since 2011. She created the Stay Brave Substack which encourages women-identifying creatives to inspire other women-identifying creatives to stay brave in their creative pursuits. She has published in such places as The New York Times, The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A Day, USA Today, Poetry, and American Poetry Review. She is a writing coach who has taught workshops to all ages at such places as Poetry School London, Poets House, Hudson Valley Writers Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering and elsewhere. She is working on a fourth collection of poems, Ordinary Splendor, on wonder, joy and love. More at http://www.leahumansky.com  or @Leah.umansky on IG or @Lady_bronte on Twitter/X

Emily Tuszynska lives in Virginia, just outside Washington D.C. Her first book, Surfacing, (Grayson Books, 2024), was the winner of the Grayson Books poetry award, and her poetry has appeared in The Georgia Review, Mom Egg Review, Scientific American, The Southern Review, and many other publications. She is the recipient of a Tennessee Williams Scholarship in poetry from the Sewanee Writers Conference and a Sustainable Arts Foundation Parent Residency Fellowship from Mineral School, as well as fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Eastern Frontier Educational Foundation. In 2020 she served as the artist-in-residence at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness state park, and she currently teaches at George Mason University.

Christian Teresi is a poet, essayist, and translator whose work has been published in many journals, including AGNI, The American Poetry Review, Blackbird, The Kenyon Review, The Literary Review, Literary Hub, Narrative, and Subtropics. What Monsters You Make of Them is his first collection. His work has been supported by a fellowship from the Washington, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He holds degrees from Binghamton University and George Mason University. Born in Albany, New York, he currently lives in Washington, DC where he works on international education and public diplomacy initiatives. Read more about his work at christianteresi.org.

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