Thresh & Hold

Marlanda Dekines debut collection is a holy, radical unlearning and reclamation of self. Whatdoes it mean to be a Gullah-Geechee descendant from a rural place where a third of the nations founding wealth was harvested by trafficked West and Central Africans? Dekinespoems travel across age and time, signaling that both the past and future exist in the present. Through erasure and persona, Dekine reimagines and calls to task the Works Progress Administration narratives, modern-day museums, and intergenerational traumas.Beyond gospel music, fear, and the stories of generations past,Thresh & Holdoffers magic, healing, and innovative pathways to manifest intimacy. Dekine remembers, remakes, and brings forth their many selves, traveling far in order to deeply connect to a spiritual home within and all around them, calling: I am listening to Spirit. I am not dying today.Marlanda Dekine is the winner of the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize.