Not Go Away Is My Name

Resistance and persistence collide in Alberto Rios’s sixteenth book, Not Go Away Is My Name, a book about past and present, changing and unchanging, letting go and holding on. The borderline between Mexico and the U.S. looms large, and Rios sheds light on and challenges our sensory experiences of everyday objects. At the same time, family memories and stories of the Sonoron desert weave throughout as Rios travels in duality: between places, between times, and between lives. In searching for and treasuring what ought to be remembered, Rios creates an ode to family life, love and community, and realizes All I can do is not go away. / Not go away is my name.