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    Santa Tarantula
    Santa Tarantula
    Santa Tarantula
    Ebook77 pages27 minutes

    Santa Tarantula

    By Jordan Pérez

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    About this ebook

    The poems in Santa Tarantula grant an urgent and haunting voice to the voiceless, explore ancient narratives, delve into Cuban history and identity, and confront trauma and violence.

    Jordan Pérez explores the tension between fear and reprieve, between hopelessness and light, in her debut collection, Santa Tarantula, the tenth winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. Pérez lends voices to the forgotten: to the political dissidents, gay men, and religious minorities imprisoned in the forced-labor camps of 1960s Cuba; to biblical women who were deemed unworthy to name; to survivors of sexual violence who grapple with paralyzing fear and isolation.

    With rich detail, these poems weave together the stories of those who go unheard with family memories, explore moments of unspeakable tragedy with glimpses of a life beyond the trauma, and draw out what it means to be vulnerable and the strength it takes to endure. Santa Tarantula pushes through the darkness, cataloging unspoken pain and multigenerational damage, and revealing that, sometimes, survival is in the telling.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Notre Dame Press
    Release dateFeb 1, 2024
    ISBN9780268207502
    Santa Tarantula
    Author

    Jordan Pérez

    Jordan Pérez works professionally in online safety and childhood sexual abuse prevention. She has an MFA in creative writing from American University and has published poetry in Poetry Magazine, Cutthroat, Poetry International, Mississippi Review, and more.

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      Book preview

      Santa Tarantula - Jordan Pérez

      Cover: Santa Tarantula, published by University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana.

      Santa

      Tarantula

      The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize

      2004, Pity the Drowned Horses, Sheryl Luna

      Final Judge: Robert Vasquez

      2006, The Outer Bands, Gabriel Gomez

      Final Judge: Valerie Martínez

      2008, My Kill Adore Him, Paul Martínez Pompa

      Final Judge: Martín Espada

      2010, Tropicalia, Emma Trelles

      Final Judge: Silvia Curbelo

      2012, A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying, Laurie Ann Guerrero

      Final Judge: Francisco X. Alarcón

      2014, Furious Dusk, David Campos

      Final Judge: Rhina P. Espaillat

      2016, Of Form & Gather, Felicia Zamora

      Final Judge: Edwin Torres

      2018, The Inheritance of Haunting, Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes

      Final Judge: Ada Limón

      2022, Stepmotherland, Darrel Alejandro Holnes

      Final Judge: John Murillo

      2024, Santa Tarantula, Jordan Pérez

      Final Judges: Alexandra Lytton Regalado and Sheila Maldonado

      The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, named after the late California native and author of the award-winning book, The Iceworker Sings, supports the publication of a first book by a Latino or Latina poet. Awarded every other year, the prize is administered by Letras Latinas—the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

      Santa

      Tarantula

      Jordan Pérez

      University of Notre Dame Press

      Notre Dame, Indiana

      Copyright © 2024 by Jordan Pérez

      Published by the University of Notre Dame Press

      Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

      undpress.nd.edu

      All Rights Reserved

      Published in the United States of America

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2023946670

      ISBN: 978-0-268-20751-9 (Hardback)

      ISBN: 978-0-268-20752-6 (Paperback)

      ISBN: 978-0-268-20753-3 (WebPDF)

      ISBN: 978-0-268-20750-2 (Epub3)

      This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at ebooks@nd.edu

      For all who cling to the light

      Contents

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction to the Poems, by Alexandra Regalado Lytton

      I. SMALLMOUTH

      Smallmouth

      Twelve

      Your Father Knew Many Women

      The Masculinity Camps

      Deadgirl

      Knockout Rose

      In This Story

      Body

      The Men

      Mixed-Up Sestina

      Tamar

      A Desolate Woman

      Men Everywhere Are Setting Traps

      The Glory Has Departed

      Lot’s Daughter

      Letter to My Grandfather in April

      II. DISSENT

      O God of Cuba

      Dissent

      Santa Tarantula

      Delilah

      Becoming Wild

      The Dream

      Gomer

      Jael

      I Consider Violence

      Wanting

      New Study Says Men Who Do Dishes Are Less Likely to Kill You

      Bathymetry

      How to Be the Other Woman

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