Verse from the Village

Dreaming in Mourning is a collection of poems that invites the reader on a personal journey of grief and loss, gratitude and celebration. Benin Lemus is a poet whose words touch directly, yet tenderly, how we show up in the world. Her poems explore complex politics in the 21st Century, motherhood, racial and gender-based violence, and gentrification, yet leaves the reader with plenty of emotional room to laugh and cultivate joy. Inspired by the Black Arts Movement poets and their descendants, Benin’s voice pays homage to the greats, yet she walks her own path. From pastoral poems to villanelles and ghazals, her creativity as a poet never loses the mission of her work: to use language that is accessible and inviting to everyday readers and return to the resting place of radical love.