Splinters, by Han Raschka, debuted in November 2022 from Collapse Press.
This book is also available directly from the author.
Price: Cover $20.00 plus $4.00 Shipping and Handling
“A poem, a prayer, an incantation…windchimes in the woods. Han Raschka’s book wrestles with the relentless voice of the god of shame.” -Kelliane Parker
The debut collection of fast rising poet Han Raschka, chronicling the trauma of violence and heartbreak visited upon the unsuspecting, and the fallout of that trauma in a society uniquely unprepared to heal or support those injuries.
“Splinters, the debut book of poetry by Han Raschka, paints a vivid portrait of trauma in the Midwest that thrusts the experience right into your body. Raschka gives us an unflinchingly honest portrayal of fighting to live through depression and fear triggered by a brutal sexual assault and steeped in Christianity, queerphobia, and societal indifference. This is, in essence, a 21st Century American hell where “men / flawed with sin / crucified my sleeping / vulnerable / body” and “the worst part of the aftermath / is the bruises that stain your thighs / like blueberry juice on white linen.” Tell me you don’t feel that in the flesh. Peppered throughout there are heart-wrenching if not surprising references to self-harm and suicide attempts, when “the spirit in my veins / begs to come out / she only takes no for so long” amidst incessant echoes and iterations of trauma: “a brief flash / of his hollow eyes / meets me in the produce aisle / the floor turns to ash.” But this book does not simply drop you in hell and leave you there; it syncopates the pain with waves of relief through finding love and care with another. These are grounded in the physical as well, where “love is not a word / love is a person / staring back at me / and she tastes / like vanilla / and weed” and “we are echoes of each other’s bodies / your drumbeat voice in my throat / two halves of ripe fruit / that splits as they hit the ground.” Amidst this challenging text these passages of relief are palpable. Above all and most fundamentally, Raschka reminds us that there’s no easy out and the steps to survival are ongoing. They invoke hope by canting “make me into lilac blooms /… / make me into river stones /… / make me into garden moss /… / make me into something / that isn’t afraid to change” just as easily as they lapse in a moment back into conflict: “i’m a war / companion / i’m a war / casualty / i’m a war / child / i’m a war.” Not exactly a light outing for a first collection, and all the better for it. This is the type of book that I read and think, they’re young and passionate and they’ve been through a lot. They’re working shit out and they’re incisive as hell. I can’t wait to see what perspectives they’ll arrive at twenty years from now.”
Richard Loranger, author Unit of Agency, Sudden Windows, Be A Bough Tit, and Poems For Teeth.
A poem, a prayer, an incantation… windchimes in the woods. Han Raschka’s book, wrestles with the relentless voiceof the god of shame. In their debut chapbook, they heal themselves on the altar of love with an unseen lover, who tastes of vanilla and weed. Only the bravest can leave the so-called safety of known generational cycles and some leave while listening to our blood sing. Both heroic and heartbreaking, Han escapes the past and moves into the rebirth of becoming.
Kelliane Parker- author of Down the Foggy Streets of my Mind
“writing poetry is a lifesaving, life affirming ‘super power’ that acknowledges trauma, sees the multiple deaths that are in store with the clearest vision, and the voice of love that heals the broken heart and the broken mind.
in han raschka’s collection of poems, splinters, the voices that have the most volume, in the front of our minds. raschka writes poetry in the voices of their tormentors. they are a captive audience to the replay and echo of trauma in memorized detail.
describing the inner battles to breathe one more breath, we are granted light and peace when their voice speaks a whisper of a lover’s glance, and the promise of love they will live for.”
norm mattox, author of Black Calculus (Nomadic Press)
Print length: 105 pages
Language: English
Publication date: August 23, 2022
Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.24 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10
1735266949
Publisher: Collapse Press
Category: Poetry
