new from above/ground press: The Desert of Itabira, by Leesa Dean

The Desert of Itabira
Leesa Dean
$5

In the desert of Itabira
time gnaws ruined houses
these walls know nothing of rain
nor hail the size of pearls
       no grass
no bromelias or ferns
      only sand
more sand

Of course Carlos would live here
a village lost in time
where servant girls patter
like birds between market stalls

He has two himself
bloodshot beauties
who call him master

There is a party to welcome us—
      hens
            cuchaca
meat cloaked in herbs
from some other kingdom
where soil allows life
           to flourish

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
January 2020
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

cover art: Matty Kakes

Leesa Dean is a graduate of the University of Guelph's MFA program and a creative writing instructor at Selkirk College. Her first book, Waiting for the Cyclone (Brindle and Glass) was nominated for the 2017 Trillium and Relit Awards and her fiction, essays, poetry and interviews have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. She is a co-founder of the literary journal Black Bear Review and has served as the interviews editor of the Humber Literary Review in the past. She lives on an acreage in Krestova, BC with her artist husband Matty Kakes and daughter Scarlett Heart, surrounded by crashed cars and fruit trees.

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