Join Radix and Asian American Writers’ Workshop to celebrate the launch of Coining a Wishing Tower by poet and The Margins Assistant Poetry Editor Ayesha Raess, on Friday, Oct 4, 7:00 pm.
“Ayesha Raees’s Coining a Wishing Tower is everything I hope to find when I read a book of poetry—fearless reckoning with unprecedented experience spoken in a singular, deeply and importantly strange lyric voice,” said author Kaveh Akbar.
Coining a Wishing Tower is a meditation on death and the afterlife — and the irresistible pull between the two.
“In the end, living is dying many times in one singular life,” writes Ayesha Raees, inviting you to consider the departures that make up one lifetime. The splintering of a voice from domestic life, the defiance of wisdom leaving childhood behind, the egress from one’s country of birth, and the non-permanence of life and inanimate objects become the rich pasture for the hybrid epic poems in this collection. Through investigation of family, faith, empire, and desire, Raees sutures together parables, both real and imagined, as concrete prose-poems of chronicle and whimsy. With precise instincts and the sweeping ambition of a fable-maker, a bright new voice marks her debut in American poetry.
On Friday, October 4, Ayesha Raees will come together with peers in poetry and music to celebrate this incredible debut. Featuring readings by Jiaoyang Li, Meher Manda, and Jasmine Reid, and music by PRIYA. It will be an evening of verse, lyric, community, and cake.
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About the Author:
Ayesha Raees عائشہ رئیس is a poet and artist identifying as ahybrid creating hybrid poetry through hybrid forms. Her workstrongly revolves around issues of race and identity, belongingand dislocation, G/god and beauty while possessing a strongagency for decolonial, anti–violence, and anti–erasure practices. She edits poetry at The Margins and has received endorsements from Asian American Writers Workshop, Kundiman, Brooklyn Poets, UNESCO, Millay Colony For The Arts and elsewhere. Her work has been published extensively, including Poetry Northwest, Pleiades, The Nation, Poets.org and others. Her first book of poems Coining A Wishing Tower won the Broken River Prize and was published by Radix in 2024. She is based in New York City and Lahore, Pakistan (and many other unsettled spaces).
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COMMUNITY CARE & ACCESSIBILITY
At AAWW, the safety and comfort of our community is our top priority. We invite you to practice intentionality and care in your behavior and language when engaging with our programs and with each other. Violence of any kind, including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, class or casteism, bigotry or bias toward religion or faith, or any action or assault against marginalized identities, is not tolerated. Those who bring harm to our community in person or online are not welcome, and will be asked to exit the space.
The event will be live streamed on Zoom with auto captioning for those who cannot join us in person. For those joining us in person, we are located on the 6th floor of 112 W 27th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues), there is an elevator that will take you directly to our office. To protect our friends with chemical sensitivities, AAWW is a fragrance-free space. Masks are required for audience members for all AAWW events; if you forget yours, one will be provided for you. We have three commercial grade air purifiers, and a quiet room in the back should you need some space from the crowd. We highly encourage all in person guests to take a COVID test at home prior to the event. If you have had COVID or have had known contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID in the 10 days prior, we ask you tune in for the live stream instead. Please reach out to msaleh@aaww.org for additional accessibility requests, including ADA accessible bathrooms, chairs with added back support, and beyond. This space is for YOU!
