The Truth Is

"The Truth Is— an astonishingly powerful debut collection by Avery M. Guess— holds the multiple facets of trauma up to the light with a piercing, rainbowed clarity. These are poems that sensitively unfold legacies of childhood sexual abuse and mental illness with fierce candor, while simultaneously performing the magical alchemies of transforming pain into riveting art. Linguistically taut, and imagistically deft, these lovely and harrowing poems linger and haunt. If you are a survivor, this is a book that will make you feel seen. If you are not a survivor, this is a book that will help you to see. Avery M. Guess is a stunning poet with a gorgeous talent, and a generously capacious heart."  — Lee Ann Roripaugh

Avery Moselle Guess is a recipient of 2015 NEA Fellowship for Poetry, grants from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and residencies from the Albee Foundation and the Ragdale Foundation. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and  works full-time as the Grant Program Manager for the Kentucky Foundation for Women.  Avery’ s first full-length collection of poetry,  The Truth Is,  is published by Black Lawrence Press.