Noelle Kocot’s ninth collection,
Ascent of the Mothers
, is a sagacious testament to the ways in which poetry can shape personhood.
“I am nothing” they write, “Or else I have made myself / Too big for words.” The scope of this book is marked by Kocot’s psychic journey punctuated by a near-fatal car crash, which elicited a new understanding of their spirituality and gender nonconforming identity. Generous, self-aware, and resilient,
is a treasure to behold and be shared.