Distributed for Autumn House Press
Terminal Maladies
Tender poetry chronicling a son’s relationship with his mother through her battle with cancer and his move from his homeland of Nigeria to the United States.
Winner of the 2023 CAAPP Book Prize from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and Autumn House Press, Okwudili Nebeolisa’s debut poetry collection serves as an intimate exploration of the relationship between a Nigerian mother and son. Throughout the book, Nebeolisa navigates the guilt of starting a new life in the United States, far away from his home country and from his mother, who is battling cancer.
Depicting tender moments between mother and son, Terminal Maladies highlights how the poet and his family shoulder the responsibility of caregiving together and how Nebeolisa works to bridge the physical and emotional distance between them. He reflects on the reasons behind his Nigerian mother’s withholding, questioning her need to act bravely alongside his own assumed role as her protector.
Winner of the 2023 CAAPP Book Prize from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and Autumn House Press, Okwudili Nebeolisa’s debut poetry collection serves as an intimate exploration of the relationship between a Nigerian mother and son. Throughout the book, Nebeolisa navigates the guilt of starting a new life in the United States, far away from his home country and from his mother, who is battling cancer.
Depicting tender moments between mother and son, Terminal Maladies highlights how the poet and his family shoulder the responsibility of caregiving together and how Nebeolisa works to bridge the physical and emotional distance between them. He reflects on the reasons behind his Nigerian mother’s withholding, questioning her need to act bravely alongside his own assumed role as her protector.
Reviews
Table of Contents
EVENTUALLY
PHANTOM HAIR
MY FATHER’S CLOTHES
ALL THE WRONG THINGS
KITCHEN SCENE
BREAKING MELON SEEDS WITH MY MOTHER
TAKING STOCK
SOLO JOURNEY TO GOD
SITTING
MONOLOGUE
I COULD STILL HEAR HIM WHISTLING
NOT SO SURE
THE JOKE
METASTASIS
NOMENCLATURE OF MY MOTHER’S PAIN
THINGS MY MOTHER’S CHILDREN DID FOR HER
OPEN WINDOWS
BACKYARD, MORNING
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
THE PHOTOGRAPH
MY OWN ASH
MEMO
TITHE
AFTER THE RADIOTHERAPY
PERSUASION
BECAUSE
ETIQUETTE
ESCAPING
FACADE
ORANGE
RETROSPECTIVE
THE BLEEDING STORY
SURVIVAL
FAITH, BUT NOT AS A METAPHOR
LITANY OF REMEDIES
SUBTLETIES
SIMPLICITY
SAVINGS
DECOY
SECRECY
THE LAST THING
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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