This selection, chosen by guest editor Shlagha Borah, is from Unearthed by Federica Santini, released by Kelsay Books in 2021.
On Biting
Creatures that bite: dogs and other canids predators in the shadow the small insects that infect skin and scalp long-fingered sirens with harsh voices women overcome by convulsion or at childbirth (place a clean cloth between their teeth) lovers the recluse in her secretive cell spiders spiders spiders you with your mouth filled with life
Federica Santini is a Professor of Italian and Interdisciplinary Studies at Kennesaw State University. Her scholarly work and literary translations have been published in numerous journals and volumes in the U.S. and Italy. Her own poetry and short fiction have appeared internationally in over 50 journals and anthologies. She has authored or co-edited six volumes, among which her monograph, Io era una bella figura una volta: Viaggio nella poesia di ricerca del secondo Novecento (2013), and the English language, annotated edition of I Novissimi. Poetry for the Sixties, with Luigi Ballerini (2017), as well as her poetry chapbook, Unearthed (2021).
Shlagha Borah (she/her) is a poet from Assam, India. Her work appears in Salamander, Nashville Review, Identity Theory, Longleaf Review, Variant Literature, Rogue Agent, and elsewhere. She is pursuing an MFA in Poetry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is an Associate Poetry Editor at Grist. She has received support for her work from Brooklyn Poets and Sundress Academy for the Arts. She is the co-founder of Pink Freud, a student-led collective working towards making mental health accessible in India.
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