“Cara Waterfall's stunning debut, Radiant Wound, places us alongside her life in Côte d'Ivoire after the second civil war. Amidst unsparing dailiness of political crisis, language is chiseled and wildly alive in her hands as she exposes "the gnarled root of memory / raking its debris / with metal teeth," and the impact of intergenerational trauma: "We heal ragged / even on the inside, pain inlaid / like an everlasting nacre." Her watchful "eye" takes in the remarkable lives and harrowing fractures of Abidjan; and her lyrical "I" continually remakes self, allowing place to change her. "You who mothered me from loneliness" she addresses in Ode to Second Mothers, "how do you render such tenderness / when there is none?" In artful and lucid aubades, self-portraits, odes, laments, and haibun, Cara Waterfall possesses the rare ability to write into "the between-work" of a land, a culture, a language and reveal the radiant remnants of survival, "still / praise what was salvaged: / ravaged, now rising."
Jennifer K. Sweeney, award-winning author of four books of poetry, including Foxlogic, Fireweed, winner of the Backwaters Prize from Backwaters Press/University of Nebraska, the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and the Perugia Press Prize
“Each poem in Radiant Wound feels like an exclusive invitation into a private room. Pulsing, this collection is alive. Waterfall places an entire world under a microscope, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Navigating the complexity of memory and identity, these poems slither around the reader, creating a vivid, three-dimensional experience that invites us to reflect on the proximity of our own stories.”
Chelene Knight, award-winning writer of Junie and Dear Current Occupant
Radiant Wound is both an anthem and a lament, a poetic exploration of life between cultures, languages, and the landscapes of Côte d'Ivoire. In this debut collection, Cara Waterfall captures the vibrant textures and deep dissonances of life abroad after the Second Ivorian Civil War, navigating the complex experience of being a geographical, cultural, and linguistic outsider. Her verses take readers through striking scenes: from the crocodile-guarded presidential palace in Yamoussoukro and the colonial past of Grand-Bassam to the intimate spaces of a woodcarver's studio and the Gbangbo River, where the laundrymen wash clothes.
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In a bold statement against the current challenges to women's rights, Unsolicited Press is dedicating 2025 to amplifying womxn's voices in literature. Their entire 2025 catalog will exclusively feature works by womxn writers, with each book sporting a striking blood-red cover as a symbol of liberation and rebellion.
As a philanthropic press, they channel all of their net profits back into operations and also support various non-profits. They actively work to create meaningful partnerships with authors and support them throughout the publication process.
For more information about Unsolicited Press and The Year of Womxn initiative, visit unsolicitedpress.com.
I’m proud to have my debut poetry collection published by Unsolicited Press, a womxn-owned independent publisher based in Portland, Oregon, has been championing underrepresented voices in literature since 2012. With a focus on exceptional storytelling over profits, the press has worked with both emerging and award-winning authors whose works have garnered numerous prestigious accolades including the Push Cart Prize, Pen/Faulkner Award, and LAMBDA.
