diVERSES reKINDLED: In Conversation Mckendy Fils-Aimé

A first poetry collection has a telltale gravitation towards childhood and family. McKendy's collection, sipèstisyon from YesYes, is no different.

I'm reminded of Hansel and Gretel, a father who is willing to hurt his own son and daughter if it makes his wife (or, stepwife, if you are more familiar with the softer revisions) happy. Fairy tales are cruel to read to kids, though I read them to my child. The poetry world is also cruel to expect poets to put forth these moments into the world first, though poets oblige. For the joy and gift of life family has given, there are pains to finish unwrapping.

McKendy does not shy away from either. The language is unapologetic in its selective but noticeable use of violence, despite the violence coming from the people the speaker loves.

The aggression is not gratuitous but fundamental in creating an arc for the speaker's growth. The development of the speaker's agency in the latter half of the collection is made rewarding through the lens of pain. The father and stepmother, for all of their atrocities, have managed to raise resourceful children (who, through their own use of violence, are able to not only survive but navigate the wilderness).

In here lies one of the many lessons McKendy's poems impart. A poetry collection, like albums before streaming, or films, or fables, are chances to tell a story.

As we build our own collections, there is an overall change that we wish to track. With the transformation in mind, we can lay breadcrumbs towards the character we wish to create, instead of hoping the reader stumbles through the woods into a story worth remembering.

Full conversation with poet Geoff Anderson and poet Mckendy Fils-Aime: https://youtu.be/vRF3uLwfg3g