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In this vulnerable, surreal collection, Steiger poems the end of the world - where again and again, the end is not the end, but the notion of "existing" is changed so profoundly by an event or events, it seems apocalyptic to anyone inside, or outside, the margins. At heart, this is a deeply personal book, with wry and thoughtful offerings-up of the poet's own body and mind following her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Steiger's skill with derealization allows the reader to quite profoundly understand that that no matter the calamity, and even when everything is beyond control, a really good story continues. Steiger's talent for couching enormously difficult concepts in tenderly humorous metaphor that cuts to the quick is truly rare. Read this collection to remember that the real human condition isn't being mortal - it's laughing while we are. Read it again to remember that the story of a life spills beyond all kinds of margins and to celebrate that Steiger's gets to do that right here, right now.
-Ankh Spice, author, The Water Engine
I felt this poetry way down in my guts. True to the lived experience of cancer, Karen's words capture both the mundane horror and conflicting emotions of treatment and recovery. "Casual evisceration" and "raccoons in the attic" are now in my cancer lexicon! With apt and accessible metaphor, her visceral language will resonate with anyone who has been through a diagnosis and will provide a window for those who want to know more.
-Leanna House, cohost, the Thanks, Cancer! podcast
The poems in Karen Steiger's Clean Margins dance within, around, through, and outside the realities of scary diagnoses. While some pieces look cancer straight in the eye, others take on the beauty and ugliness in nature and the otherworldly. There are comedic vignettes, deep reflections, and elements that tap into memories both fond and bewildering. Clean Margins highlights very human experiences (from devastating to lighthearted) in relatable ways, from fresh and exciting new vantage points.
-K. Weber, author, A Sum of Our Poetic Parts, Volume 3
