Incidental Pollen: Poems - Softcover

Austin-Li, Ellen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1963695259 ISBN 13: 9781963695250

Publisher: Madville Publishing LLC, 2025

Synopsis

RUNNER-UP FOR THE 2023 ARTHUR SMITH POETRY PRIZE

Incidental pollen refers to pollen that collects on bees as they forage for nectar-like the cumulative life experiences we cannot help but carry. The hive serves as a thematic thread in this collection that explores the space between past and present, shame and redemption, grief and resilience. Poetic forms lend meaning-like the villanelle that captures the grief-driven magical thinking of the speaker. Are recurring red fox sightings visitations from her deceased father and nephew? Trauma and loss appear in these tonally rich and imagistic poems, but the arc ultimately centers on the search for belonging, the attempt to recreate home.

About this title

About the Author

Ellen Austin-Li's first full-length collection, Incidental Pollen-a 2023 Trio Award finalist, a 2024 Wisconsin Poetry Series semi-finalist, and runner-up for the Arthur Smith Poetry Prize-is forthcoming from Madville Publishing. Finishing Line Press published her two chapbooks, Firefly (2019) and Lockdown: Scenes From Early in the Pandemic (2021). Her work appears in Artemis, Thimble Literary, The Maine Review, Salamander, Lily Poetry Review, Rust & Moth, and many other places. She's a Best of the Net nominee and holds an MFA in poetry from the Solstice Low-Residency Program. Ellen co-founded the monthly reading series, "Poetry Night at Sitwell's," in Cincinnati, where she lives.

Edition details

• Publisher: Madville Publishing LLC
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1963695259
• ISBN 13: 9781963695250
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 94