Sublunary

The poems in Lisa Richter's third book, Sublunary, engage with all things under the moon: a human collection rooted in grief and renewal. Drawing together the sudden death of a father, a climate emergency, urban pastoralism, Jewish folk traditions, love, desire, and societal breakdown, the collection navigates the surreal, bewildering geographies of loss with Richter's trademark mix of dreamlike fabulism, self-deprecating humour, and pathos. From mythological locales to the streets of pandemic-era Toronto, these heartfelt poems integrate a multiplicity of lyric voices, collaged text, associative leaps, and speculative elements to create a nuanced portrait of what "a reckless intimacy with the world" might look like--for better or worse. Ultimately, this capacious book of elegy, play, and upheaval advocates for an ethics of care, solidarity, and compassion for our perfectly imperfect selves and each other: a mode of survival that is full-throated and at times, even joyous.