This holiday season, give a gift of a debut-authored book. You’ll find collections of poems gathered among fiction and memoir. We asked our authors to describe who they might give their book to, and in the spirit of “The First Book” column, an author’s voice shimmers in its singularity of expression as each answer the same static question. May your holidays be merry and bright!
The Author: Maria Alejandro Barrios | Instagram: @mariaalebvelezwrites
The Book: The Waves Take You Home (Lake Union Publishing, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: The book follows Vi Sanoguera, a Colombian woman who returns to Colombia after her Abuela’s funeral and discovers she has inherited the family restaurant—and its ghost.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Maria Alejandra Barrios: I’d recommend this book to any Latinx person, especially those actively trying to reconnect with their homes and gain the confidence to pursue the life they’ve always wanted and felt right for them.
The Author: Christopher Blackman | Twitter: @cblackman99
The Book: Three-Day Weekend (Gunpowder Press, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: Frenetic thoughts break through the 21st century hum. The speakers realize the chickens are coming home to roost. The music is no longer loud enough to drown them out.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Christopher Blackman: Fans of Ed Skoog, Bob Hicok, Jennifer L. Knox or Natalie Shapero. Insomniacs. People who do bar trivia. People who call soda “pop.” Midwesterners, in general. Obsessive compulsives. People who cry at commercials.
The Author: Esinam Bediako | Instagram: @esi_the_lurker
The Book: Blood on the Brain (Red Hen Press, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: Can a 24-year-old Ghanaian American woman outrun a breakup, a head injury, and her absentee father before unresolved trauma catches up?
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Esinam Bediako: Fans of coming-of-age stories, readers who enjoy diaspora stories, armchair psychologists, anyone who enjoys a blend of humor and depth, your aunt who loves to comment on every family drama, your friend who can’t stop talking about their ex, and anyone interested in challenging stereotypes like the strong Black woman, the angry Black woman, the perfectionist—and other limiting labels
The Author: Abbie Kiefer | Instagram: @abbie_kiefer
The Book: Certain Shelter (June Road Press, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: Poems that contemplate crisscrossing losses—the death of a parent, a Maine mill town’s long fade—and how we forge refuge in a faltering world.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Abbie Kiefer: A person who has known the pervasiveness of grief. A person who knows they’ll know grief in the future. Anyone who has seen an old mill and felt a sorrow they couldn’t quite name. Mrs. Ayotte, who, during our Maine lit. unit, made us read E. A. Robinson when we all lobbied for Stephen King. Stephen King. And E. A. Robinson, if I could send the book back a century.
The Author: Omotara James | Twitter: @omotarajames
The Book: Song of My Softening (Alice James Books, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: Poems that celebrate sound and reverberate with tenderness, confronting what it means to witness brokenness while daring to love the world.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Omotara James: I’d recommend this book to poetry lovers who enjoy reciting poetry, to young writers attempting to discover their voice, and to anyone who has ever suffered erasure or grief. This collection is an invitation to love, hope and try again.
The Author: Joanne De Simone | Instagram: @jodesimone
The Book: Fall and Recovery: Raising Children with Disabilities through Lessons Learned in Dance (She Writes Press, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: Even as a special educator, I wasn’t prepared to raise two children with disabilities. To survive motherhood, I had to reconnect with the lessons I learned as a dancer.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Joanne De Simone: I would give this book to parents raising children with disabilities, to doctors, teachers, and therapists who work with children who have disabilities, and to anyone who is struggling to live with unresolvable conflicts.
The Author: Kim Liao | Instagram: @the_kimlet
The Book: Where Every Ghost Has a Name (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2024)
The Elevator Pitch: In this historical saga, an American travels to Taiwan to solve a family mystery and excavate suppressed stories of the White Terror period.
The Rumpus: Who would you give this book to?
Kim Liao: I would give this book to anyone who loves reading memoir, travel, or historical drama. Also, I’d recommend it to anyone who is curious about Taiwan and Taiwanese history.
