If I Cannot Fly: Book Release Party
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Come celebrate the launch of IF I CANNOT FLY (Serotonin Press) with an evening of poetry at The Perch Music & Arts Workshop!
The event will feature readings by local poets Jane-Rebecca Cannarella, Corey Qureshi, Warren C. Longmire, Alexandra Naughton, & Amy Saul-Zerby.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
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Praise for IF I CANNOT FLY:
“Amy Saul-Zerby’s latest collection, If I Cannot Fly, is both frank and philosophical, humorous and humble; she meets embodiment with curiosity and reflection, and an expertise in the craft of repetition, turning a situation or phrase over, like lifting a rock to find a new small creature each time. Her wry curiosity is heartbreaking and exhilarating, especially when examining her own evolution: “Because I was raised without a god I always thought / I couldn’t pray, but now I think maybe I’ve just / never been good at asking for what I need.” Who hasn’t felt the same tension with asserting their own self-worth? Saul-Zerby’s voice is at once both hopeful & meditative, and ultimately redemptive: “what we are building, // is absolutely, eminently, extremely worth having.” If I Cannot Fly is a testament to living; this is a necessary collection, especially in our current time.”
- Alison Lubar, author of Philosophers Know Nothing About Love, queer feast, sweet euphemism, It Skips a Generation, METAMOURPHOSIS, The Other Tree, and American Kintsugi
“Split between the rough exterior world and the tender flesh of the interior, Saul-Zerby’s If I Cannot Fly offers us a snapshots of a witnessed life couched in a stunning level of vulnerability. Earnest, evocative, and ever-present, after each poem I am left “not haunted but I feel like I could be if I tried harder”.
—I.S. Jones, Author of Bloodmercy and Spells of My Name
“Reading Amy Saul-Zerby’s If I Cannot Fly feels like lighting a firecracker in your hand and holding it a second longer than you should before throwing it. The poems are exciting, risky, and driven by an indomitable survival instinct. It’s how I like my poetry, I mean psychology, I mean philosophy. Like an urgent telegram reporting news from the self, Saul-Zerby writes, I want my entire life. I love this line and how each word becomes more important than the one before it. These poems deftly question fate and choice, heredity and identity. If I Cannot Fly is moving, smart, and sparkling, and it scorched me again and again.”
- Sommer Browning, author of Good Actors
The event will feature readings by local poets Jane-Rebecca Cannarella, Corey Qureshi, Warren C. Longmire, Alexandra Naughton, & Amy Saul-Zerby.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
---
Praise for IF I CANNOT FLY:
“Amy Saul-Zerby’s latest collection, If I Cannot Fly, is both frank and philosophical, humorous and humble; she meets embodiment with curiosity and reflection, and an expertise in the craft of repetition, turning a situation or phrase over, like lifting a rock to find a new small creature each time. Her wry curiosity is heartbreaking and exhilarating, especially when examining her own evolution: “Because I was raised without a god I always thought / I couldn’t pray, but now I think maybe I’ve just / never been good at asking for what I need.” Who hasn’t felt the same tension with asserting their own self-worth? Saul-Zerby’s voice is at once both hopeful & meditative, and ultimately redemptive: “what we are building, // is absolutely, eminently, extremely worth having.” If I Cannot Fly is a testament to living; this is a necessary collection, especially in our current time.”
- Alison Lubar, author of Philosophers Know Nothing About Love, queer feast, sweet euphemism, It Skips a Generation, METAMOURPHOSIS, The Other Tree, and American Kintsugi
“Split between the rough exterior world and the tender flesh of the interior, Saul-Zerby’s If I Cannot Fly offers us a snapshots of a witnessed life couched in a stunning level of vulnerability. Earnest, evocative, and ever-present, after each poem I am left “not haunted but I feel like I could be if I tried harder”.
—I.S. Jones, Author of Bloodmercy and Spells of My Name
“Reading Amy Saul-Zerby’s If I Cannot Fly feels like lighting a firecracker in your hand and holding it a second longer than you should before throwing it. The poems are exciting, risky, and driven by an indomitable survival instinct. It’s how I like my poetry, I mean psychology, I mean philosophy. Like an urgent telegram reporting news from the self, Saul-Zerby writes, I want my entire life. I love this line and how each word becomes more important than the one before it. These poems deftly question fate and choice, heredity and identity. If I Cannot Fly is moving, smart, and sparkling, and it scorched me again and again.”
- Sommer Browning, author of Good Actors
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Where is it happening?
The Perch Music & Arts Community, 2321 Emerald St, Philadelphia, PA 19125-1503, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherAmy Saul-Zerby
