He thinks I should be glad because they

Like the idea of Aisha.

I am not the idea of Aisha.

I am Aisha.

You I know you

Love the idea of Aisha.

I am not the idea of Aisha.

I am Aisha.

Aisha Sasha John

2018 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist

See Poet Bio

Notes on the poem

Our Poem of the Week is “He thinks I should be glad because they,” from the 2018 Griffin-shortlisted collection I have to live. (McClelland & Stewart) by poet and performer Aisha Sasha John.

Of the collection the judges said: “Aisha Sasha John’s I have to live. shows what poetry can become when stripped of…

Our Poem of the Week is “He thinks I should be glad because they,” from the 2018 Griffin-shortlisted collection I have to live. (McClelland & Stewart) by poet and performer Aisha Sasha John.

Of the collection the judges said: “Aisha Sasha John’s I have to live. shows what poetry can become when stripped of prettiness and polite convention — when in survival mode. Spontaneous, its subjects unposed, its language unrehearsed, each poem has the effect of being taken with a Polaroid camera. John writes poems that are resistant to overwrought aesthetics, poems that have popular appeal yet are uninhibited by audience, poems whose casual demeanor belies their fight against casualty. They wind their way into us like a chorus.”

Aisha Sasha John’s most recent collection is TO STAND AT THE PRECIPICE ALONE AND REPEAT WHAT IS WHISPERED (Ugly Duckling Press).

Poem of the Week

He thinks I should be glad because they
Aisha Sasha John

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