Más allá de la aureola marrón y núbil / Lauri Garcia Duenas / 2024
Más allá de la aureola marrón y núbil is an afternoon and evening spent with your sweet and timeworn tia, gracious in her wisdom and resplendent in her power. “Quiero sanar pero eso implicaría estar enferma / y no lo estoy / ni lo estuve,” she says with her whole chest in the opening poem. Alexandra Regalado translates it as “I want to heal but that implies being sick / and I am not/ nor was I ever.” The bitter ex club listening to Rebeca Lane’s latest project with Audry Funk will enjoy Lauri’s curses for her betrayer, but what I love about Lauri’s approach is that rather than vengefully lashing out, she has truly found her center; her curses come from a place of conviction rather than fantasy, creating a voice that feels less like a chest-thumping bitter ex and more believable: “no hay odio ni rencor en la aureola marrón y núbil / sólo leche para mi segundo vástago” or in translation: “There is no hate or resentment in the nubile brown areola / only milk for my second child.” This collection was a hug when I needed it. 4.5/5