Jackie McManus

The Earthmover's Daughter Jackie McManus

It is in the sanctuary of poetry where there is a hard-won peace in 'The Earthmover's Daughter.' Grief and loss inform the relentless beauty of these fine poems. Author Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield describes them as "driving right into the heart of the shattered." Here, trauma, love, and loss fuse with vulnerability, authenticity, and strength. 'The Earthmover's Daughter' marches on the page with piercing emotion and insight. Beautiful, powerful language haunts even as it helps with what is uncomfortable and messy and heartbreaking. Hang onto your seat as you are filled with anguish before you are "allowed to heal." "Everyone in the world seems to be writing poems," the poet Anne Sexton warned, "but only a few climb into the sky." This is the debut collection of poetry by Jackie McManus and the sky is in sight. This is poetry that takes a fearless look at a life of struggle and with radical honesty, moves forward. As former Wisconsin Poet Laureate, Max Garland, writes, "'The Earthmover's Daughter' bears unflinching witness to both personal and cultural loss," yet the language is "redemptive." Surprising celebratory moments in this volume inspire us to know we can endure suffering, that it is not a betrayal of grief to find joy, and both can be carried simultaneously. The poetry in this collection speaks for connection as much as for truth. As the author, Tim Schell, states, McManus' poetry utilizes a "powerful and...explosive language" for poetry that deeply connects us to what matters.