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Bodies & Words is an exploration of male-female relationships at different stages of life. The poems range from the frustrations and surprises of early adolescence to the adjustments of early relationships, the desires and anxieties of middle age, and the wisdom and acceptance of later years. Along the way, these poems challenge gender stereotypes about love, women, marriage, desire, infidelity, and aging. The title refers to a Joyce Carol Oates story quotation: "In love, there are two things: bodies and words. The words go along with certain bodies, sometimes the name of those bodies, their 'names,' and sometimes the words those bodies exclaim." The book examines this rather cryptic message by investigating the labels we use to define ourselves and others and the relationships between us. From the opening poem, "Rock Gate Park," nothing is what it seems-love is cruel rather than tender and just as much a desire for dominance as a yearning for the beloved. Early relationships are unstable and based on fantasy; later relationships are also unstable, but bear the weight of guilt and disappointment. The collection leaves us questioning whether men and women ever truly see each other as what they really are.
About the author
Celia Lisset Alvarez, born in Spain to Cuban parents fleeing Fidel Castro's regime, immigrated to Miami in 1974, where she has been living since. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami, and proceeded to publish two chapbooks of poetry, Shapeshifting (Spire Press, 2006) and The Stones (Finishing Line Press, 2006). Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Multiverses (Finishing Line Press, 2021) is her first full-length collection. She is currently the editor of Prospectus: A Literary Offering, and lives with her husband Rafael, daughters Lucy and Sara, and her mother, Sonia.
