Despojo

What Tatiana has done with Despojo is pure delight!

She offers home, love, peace and healing. Her heritage

woven into each line, sharing her roots and the wisdom

from her ancestors. With each poem, she tells a story

with a quiet yet bold flare that only she possesses. Mas-

terfully written and a complete gem is this masterpiece!

—C. Thomas, Poet & Author of Bernard’s Bedroom

Despojo waters us with a conversation of identity Ca-

ribeños know all too well. A refreshing exploration of

both wanting to belong and tracing back all that makes

us feel seen. This collection reminds us that it is in the

shedding of skin that we learn to mend.

—Melania-Luisa Marte, Poet & Author of Mela

Despojo is a testament to so many things: the pain and

healing in the aftermath of sexual violence, the lineages

Tatiana honors and writes within, the fact that love

is a verb. The poems in Despojo carry an impossible

amount of compassion for their subjects. I learn from

Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez the act of staying put and

just looking; she is a poet deeply invested in witnessing

her family and ancestry, in writing with an uncom-

promising eye towards balancing the truth and the

turmoil. She never turns away. I am so lulled by her

language, which is so skillful it has a spine. Flowers

dot the pages, the air becomes thinner and sweet with

molasses. Do yourself a favour and learn what it really

means to trace lineage, to write with strength towards

people who have hurt you, to stand and carry an entire

history on your shoulders.

—Nancy Huang, Author of Favorite Daughter