Forage

Winner of the 2010-2011 Whitebird Chapbook Prize.

In “leaflight, earthlight,” JoAnn Balingit composes poems that forage beautifully to find what will suffice. — Arthur Sze, author of The Redshifting Web and The Ginkgo Light

JoAnn Balingit’s Forage is a passionate and heartbreaking collection. Often grounded in the natural world, Balingit’s lush imagery and sure music reverberate throughout these poems. Her prosody is as crisp and unflinching as Sylvia Plath’s in lines like “my mother glints like a polished shield.” I am smitten by this small collection of poems that explodes from a huge heart foraging through a complex family history (Filipino/ Anglo) punctuated by misunderstanding, loss and struggle, and arriving at what we call love, then finally,grace. — Pamela Uschuk, author of Crazy Love