Sundress Publications announces the release of Glossogenesis, the winner of the 2024 E-Chapbook Contest. Here, Cynthia White explores intimate moments and experiences of womanhood and memories of girlhood, written passionately and humorously through the lens of an avid observer of the natural world, a companion, a caregiver, a mother, and a daughter. White reminds us of the power of language—one of our oldest systems—while reflecting on her most impactful relationships. In a handful of poems, She digs deep past the current meaning of the word to better understand root feelings for a person dear to the heart, a difficult moment, and even a colorful, like witnessing a sky rich with the sunset.
Amanda Moore, author of Requeening, writes “the poems in Glossogenesis function as both archaeology and alchemy, unearthing hidden histories from language and transforming the familiar into treasure. With remarkable precision, White excavates etymology as a form of divination, revealing an intelligence that is both cerebral and deeply felt.” For Farnaz Fatemi, author of Sister Tongue and former Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, Glossogenesis is a book of spells. It is a field guide for anyone who has ever heard a word that lingers in your ears and then had its meaning shape shift as you go about your day, your life.”
You can download your copy of Glossogenesis for free on the Sundress website!
Cynthia White’s poems have appeared in Adroit, Massachusetts Review, ZYZZYVA, Southern Poetry Review, Blue Mountain Review, New Letters, Poet Lore, and Plume, among others. Her work can be found in numerous anthologies, including leaning toward light: poems for gardens and the hands that tend them from Storey Press. She was a finalist for Nimrod’s Pablo Neruda Prize and the winner of the Julia Darling Memorial Prize from Kallisto Gaia Press. Her poem “She Said Stop Here” was recently included in the preface to Alma Mater by London playwright Kendall Feaver. She lives in Santa Cruz, California.
