The Easy Body

“As a Panamanian-Nicaraguan immigrant raised mostly by women, I identified strongly with its depictions of Central American mythological femme monsters such as the ciguanaba, a half-horse half-woman creature who lures men before she attacks them. Many of the poems are nods to single mothers, women and femmes and how they create networks of support for each other. In these depictions, Luboviski-Acosta also highlights how colonialist governments constantly politicize and surveil immigrants of color for these survival tactics.”

“In the book, the poet acts as a witness. The poet is the easy body at work: they have become a poet under duress, out of necessity, out of survival; even though, as it’s noted in the book, poets are very often the first up against the wall.”