A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying

Filled with the nuanced beauty and complexity of the everydaya pot of beans, a goat carcass, embroidered linens, a grandfathers cancerA Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying journeys through the inherited fear of creation and destruction. The histories of South Texas and its people unfold in Laurie Ann Guerreros stirring language, including the dehumanization of men and its consequences on women and children. Guerreros tongue becomes a palpable border, occupying those liminal spaces that both unite and divide, inviting readers to consider that which is known and unknown: the body. Guerrero explores not just the right, but the ability to speak and fight for oneself, one's children, one's communityin poems that testify how, too often, we fail to see the power reflected in the mirror.