In the Zero of Sky —poems by Tamra Plotnick - Paperback
In the Zero of Sky —poems by Tamra Plotnick - Paperback
Tamra Plotnick’s poems course the dialectic between freedom and containment, banging up against elements and identities along the way. In the process of observing the walls of cities, of motherhood, of the human heart, or even a verse’s form, the poems discover cracks, leading to an infinite sky. Such wild blue yonder offers wisdom, liberation, and a canopy over the sacred, the frivolous, and the profane.
ISBN-13: 978-1-7356923-8-8
eISBN-13: 978-1-7356923-9-5
Tamra Plotnick's In the Zero of Sky draws the reader into the world of magic: skies with udders; milk-drinking ink--a world of extreme juxtapositions: hopelessness and despair and love and light--where the latter always wins. Imagine soaring in without speed or speech in a place with daring and delightful diction. This book, a must-read, is a garden of verbal delight, truly a tour de force.
—Pamela L. Laskin, Director, The Poetry Outreach Center
Author, RONIT AND JAMIL (Harper Collins) and WHY NO GOODBYE (2018 winner of Leapfrog International Prize)
Tamra Plotnick's enchanting and elegant wordsmithery rarely misses a beat. Focusing on her urbane world, the poet's "personal prism" is inspired by Plotnick's life as an educator, activist, traveler, mother, and wife. Evocative and opinionated, these meticulously crafted poems embody "a molecule of a mandala." In her creative quest, Plotnick inspires the reader to search for and believe in the possibilities of "a more auspicious astrology."
—Ilka Scobie, Deputy Editor, Live Mag
Author of The Blue House (Soncino Press, 2017).
Plotnick writes in the tradition of Rumi and Whitman, the great mystics and shamans. Her dense lyrics, thick with the things of this world, fly weightless through the sky, from city to city, dipping their pen in the night to circumscribe the day in myth, singing of the invisible and ever-creative Nothing Goddess. These are hymns to vision and re-envisioning, to its powers and uses, how it elevates and heals. The doctor says, “Read these poems, drink a glass of water, and call me in the morning.”
—Joe Elliot , Co-Curator of Sunday Reading Series at the Zinc Bar in NYC.
Author of Opposable Thumb (subpress, 2006), Homework (Lunar Chandelier, 2010), and Idea for a B Movie (Free Scholars Press, 2016).
Tamra Plotnick, the author of In the Zero of Sky, has work in a variety of journals and anthologies, including Serving House Journal; The Waiting Room Reader, Vol II: Words to Keep You Company, edited by Rachel Hadas; Tribes #8, Stickman Review, LiveMag, BigCityLit; Atlantic Review; Lurch; Burrow; The Midwest Review; Hunger Enough, and Global City Review: International Edition. Her memoir excerpt “Barbie and Gandhi Sitting in a Tree” appeared in The Coachella Review. She has read and performed her work in multimedia shows at a range of venues, including La Mama Theater, Zinc Bar, KGB, and Cornelia Street Café. With a long and varied background as a dancer, Tamra has performed at Dixon Place, Cafe Teatro Julia de Burgos, The Caribbean Cultural Center, and PS 122. She has developed and led workshops melding creative writing with movement and continues to dance samba, Afro-Caribbean, improvisation, and Raqs sharqi. She earned a master’s degree in Creative Writing from City College of New York, where she won a New York Times Fellowship and an undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Additionally, she holds a Master’s degree in education and is a certified yoga instructor. She teaches English Language Arts in an alternative public high school in Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn with her family.