irl

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"...the enduring light in the absorbing collection is love." Kirkus Reviews

?#irl is a ravishing and provocative odyssey across the landscape of life. Matthew David Wachsman's collection of poems is a full-throated celebration of our ability to love, reason, cure, support and honor each other. It is also an unflinching exploration of why we can and must do better. He inspires us to believe in ourselves while laying out the possible implications of our failure to act. These poems are a map of the psyche, offering insight into what motivates us and how to better understand and respect each other. Dating, love, fighting, making our community better, growing up and growing old: #irl is the story of us in all of our chaotic, majestic glory.

It includes a poem about an invented word, a word that means a feeling so much greater than love. There are five poems inspired by George Floyd including "A Permanent Stain", about the enslavers who desecrate Wachsman's family past. "Miraculous" looks to the future every human on earth is making in each moment. Wachsman calls us out for self-inflicted wounds but refuses to let go of the very real possibility that with love and courage, we will prevail. We must.