The Republic of Home is a chapbook-length poem written after Dionne Brand’s Inventory. Each of the 11 parts represents one month of 2021 (ending in November) and catalogues the reported COVID deaths at the beginning and end of each month. Otherwise, the poem does not reference the pandemic. Instead, pulling quotes from Inventory, Leslie Joy Ahenda examines ideas of self-hood and relationship, methods of living in the world amid disaster, and the impossible staying power of hope. The Blasted Tree has produced a limited edition of 60 copies of The Republic of Home, each bound into Italian high-cotton paper in dark grey with a pastel green flyleaf. Copies of the chapbook are available now from The Blasted Tree’s store, and the entire poem can be read online following the link below.
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