Out of Violence into Poetry Poems 2018–2021

Margaret Randall's most recent collection of poems, Out of Violence Into Poetry, was written over these past few years when language itself was violated by a president who lied until each lie, repeated often enough, resembled a terrible truth in the public discourse. Reality, sanity, beauty: all bend and run the risk of breaking when distorted beyond recognition. These poems consciously restore language to its natural habitat. They deal with history, memory, loss, life, death, and promise. They address love and aging. They become a welcome refuge at a time of uncertainty and take us on disparate journeys that often have surprising twists. There is humor as well as rage. We cannot leave it to the politicians alone to give words their meaning back. That is the job of poets, and this book does that job well. Randall is the author of nearly 200 books, spanning more than six decades. Out of Violence into Poetry may well be her finest collection of poetry to date.

Margaret Randall is a feminist poet, writer, translator, photographer and social activist. She is the author of over 150 books. She received the 2019 Hayde´e Santamari´a Medal from Casa de las Americas in Havana, and the prestigious 2019 Poet of Two Hemispheres Prize, presented by Ecuador’s Poesi´a en Paralelo Cero. In 2017, she was awarded the Medal of Literary Merit by Literatura en el Bravo, Chihuahua, Mexico. The University of New Mexico granted her an honorary doctorate in letters in 2019. She received the 2020 George Garrett Award from AWP and the Paulo Freire Prize by Chapman University