Karen Steiger Poetry

In this vulnerable, surreal collection, Steiger poems the end of the world — where again and again, the end is not the end, but the notion of “existing” is changed so profoundly by an event or events, it seems apocalyptic to anyone inside, or outside, the margins. At heart, this is a deeply personal book, with wry and thoughtful offerings-up of the poet’s own body and mind following her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Steiger’s skill with derealization allows the reader to quite profoundly understand that that no matter the calamity, and even when everything is beyond control, a really good story continues. Steiger’s talent for couching enormously difficult concepts in tenderly humorous metaphor that cuts to the quick is truly rare. Read this collection to remember that the real human condition isn’t being mortal — it’s laughing while we are. Read it again to remember that the story of a life spills beyond all kinds of margins and to celebrate that Steiger’s gets to do that right here, right now.

—Ankh Spice, author, The Water Engine