Small House Breathing

“Claire Zoghb’s poems move between cities, among languages, and across dangerous terrain where boundaries shift and allegiances are always in question. Yet, although the complicated relationships that inform this riveting collection are fraught with ambiguity, and the terms of engagement—both private and public—are difficult, each poem contains at its core her hard messages of love, like the seeds in the apple her lover consumes whole.” —Marie Harris, New Hampshire Poet Laureate, 1999-2004 “Deeply rooted in place, poems in Claire Zoghb’s Small House Breathing are messengers of shadow, but also messengers of light [. . .]. What unites this intense and compelling collection is Zoghb’s knowledge that what finally joins generations and different cultures is the human spirit which refuses to let passion and laughter get swallowed even in a world that threatens to drown out song. Teaching us how to stay centered, how to rise, the music and wisdom in this shimmering collection of poems linger first in the ear, but finally anchor in the heart.” —Vivian Shipley