Welcome to Litsy!

A comforting, grieving, digging, driven collection of poems inspired by the author‘s experiences leaving her relapsed fiancé, selling their house, further deconstructing, and running West for a fresh start during the pandemic—full of bitter beauty, shards of piercing clarity, and flares of joy. My many favorites included Why Read Poetry If It Won‘t Make You Rich, Eve‘s Apology, Holy, Leap, Eden, I Haven‘t Prayed in Years, Culpable, and Even If.

“I would like to touch the world
and not harm it. I would like to be touched and not
harmed.”

Joy Sullivan strikes me as a poet aiming to be a younger, more sexual Mary Oliver (cf: “Tomatoes” to “Roses” [Felicity]). But Mary was already perfect; fully incarnate yet not inelegantly carnal. I don‘t begrudge Sullivan having had an orgasm or writing about it. I do have reservations about her — metaphorically — beating off a dead horse (an offense which feels particularly egregious coming from a horse girl). 👇🏻

#weekyfavorites
#LaneWinslowMystery
#BookedinTime #Ireland #foodandlit
#mystery #bookfoundinbook #AlbertCampion
#poetry

#hyggehourreadathon
Me, my kitties, hot cinnamon milk, & a book.

My #weekendreads

“Bear beauty for as long as you are able and if you spot a sunning warbler glowing like a prism, remind yourself— joy is not a trick.”
#poetry #joy

My StoryGraph 2024 wrap-up. It was a solid reading year with lots of fabulous books across many genres. Tagged book was my best of the year. Absolutely LOVE Joy Sullivan's poetry, and I read this volume repeatedly throughout the year and carried it with me for a couple months including across the Atlantic on vacation. Cannot recommend enough ☺️

Vitality in each line. An ode to living even when it feels impossible. A wood frog defrosting its heart.

I've never been so excited for a book release. I raced down to pick up my pre-ordered copy from my local indie on lunch today. Grabbed a coffee at the cafe next door and sat simply staring at the cover almost afraid to open it up. And when I did start reading with held breath, I began to find myself on every page. Joy Sullivan has such a way of bringing beauty to the ordinary. Her poems always connect, and her writing is devastatingly beautiful.

Sooo excited about this poetry collection coming out in April 2024. Joy Sullivan has become a favorite poet of mine over the last year or so, and I could not be more thrilled for this volume! Check out her Instagram https://instagram.com/joysullivanpoet or linktree https://linktr.ee/joysullivanpoet1 if you're so inclined! 😊