Quietly powerful . . . Gather the Night ambitiously takes on the task of speaking about loss, addiction, madness, grief, and love, bringing us into its intimate confrontations. We emerge from reading it with a deeper understanding of all of the above, a sense of wonder at the way we get through the harder, harsher aspects of our lives, and an appreciation for poets and nurses like Seluja who guide the way.
--Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine
Description
This debut collection reads like an elegy, not just for the author’s brother Lou, stricken with schizophrenia, but for all families affected by mental illness. Through multiple personae and a variety of styles, Seluja offers a gritty authenticity and empathy to the subjects and themes. These poems grieve for a world of the lost while extending solace to those who remain and remember.
Reviews
Gather the Night is a poetic love letter to Seluja's brother Lou and to all schizophrenics. . . . These poems capture the wonder and grief of those who have loved the afflicted, witnessed their buzzing world, and endured their loss.--Valerie Martínez, author of Each and Her
Gather the Night is a poetic love letter to Seluja's brother Lou and to all schizophrenics. . . . These poems capture the wonder and grief of those who have loved the afflicted, witnessed their buzzing world, and endured their loss.--Valerie Martínez, author of Each and Her
When you stop breathing while reading, you know you are there. . . . Gather the Night is a 'rupture so much closer than it seems.'--Meg Tuite, author of Bound by Blue: Stories
