Night of the Hawk
by Lauren Martin

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GENRE: Poetry

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BOOK BLURB:

Ifá. Nature. Illness. Love. Loss. Misogyny. Aging. Africa. Our wounded planet. In this sweeping yet intensely personal collection, Lauren Martin tells the untold stories of the marginalized, the abused, the ill, the disabled—the different. Inspired by her life’s experiences, including the isolation she has suffered as a result both of living with chronic illness and having devoted herself to a religion outside the mainstream, these poems explore with raw vulnerability and unflinching honesty what it is to live apart—even as one yearns for connection.

But Night of the Hawk is no lament; it is powerful, reverential, sometimes humorous, often defiant—“Oh heat me and fill me / I rise above lines”—and full of wisdom. Visceral and stirring, the poems in this collection touch on vastly disparate subjects but are ultimately unified in a singular quest: to inspire those who read them toward kindness, compassion, and questioning.

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EXCERPT ONE:

A SEA OF KISSES

One kiss to

Make me stay

Two to

Start the day

Three and

I’m on my way.

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GUEST POST:

My Favorite Songs for the Writing of Night of the Hawk

I love music and I often use it to calm my mind a focus me when I’m writing. I know some people work best with no sound. That’s true for me sometimes if I’m in (endless) editing mode but when I’m trying to just get my thoughts to flow, music is my key. My favorite songs for the writing of this collection would be 1) of course Heroes by David Bowie 2) Zombie by Fela Kuti 3) Hummingbird by Low Roar 4) VCR by The XX 5) GTFO by Mariah Carey 6) Sabi by Mohbad 7) This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush 8) Holocene by Bon Iver 😭😭😭 9) Woman by Mumford and Sons 10) When We’re Dancing Close and Slow by Prince 11) Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil 12) Many Things by Zinoleesky 13) Things Are Changin’ (Live) by Gary Clark Jr 14) Know You by Simi 15) Follow Me by Petit Bisquit 16) Everything by Victony 17) Ojuelegba by Wizkid 18) Tilted by Christine and the Queens 19) Everyday People by Arrested Development.

And if I get stuck, I put on Out of Africa and am reminded of the author Karen Blixen and how she changed and learned and found her voice.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Lauren Martin is a psychotherapist, poet, and a devoted Ìyânífá. Born in Boston and spending many years in New York and Paris, she currently lives in Oakland, California. Lauren studied psychology, photography and poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. She spent years writing without submitting her work due to a long shamanic journey, which led her to both Ifá, and to the writing of several books (including this collection of poems.) The upcoming publication of Night of the Hawk (SheWrites Press, 2024), reflects a deeply personal experience of illness, isolation and true shamanism.

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