Advance PRAISE OF FOR DAUGHTERS WHO WALK OUT LIKE SONS
“In this spectacular debut, notions of what it means to be beautiful–both inside and out–get complicated with a refreshing vulnerability. Komal Mathew makes captivating poems bubbling over with uncommon wisdom and grace.”
—Aimee Nezhukumatathil
“In For Daughters Who Walk Out Like Sons, Komal Mathew presents us with a speaker obsessed not just with leaving home, but with being welcomed upon return: ‘The first time I heard / the story of the prodigal son, / I was in college and always jealous.’ The poems in this collection are filled with questions about the journey: How can a woman be certain of her safety in such a dangerous world? Is it possible to return to open arms? ‘Who could / trust the future with a past like that?’ In this stunning book, Mathew lists the dangers that await us in the open world, and she shows us why it’s still worth exploring.”
—Paige Lewis
“In a gorgeous debut collection, Komal Mathew’s poems yield a faith of transparency and yearning, a lyric pulse arisen from the longing of our souls to be clothed with eternity, our heavenly home: ‘Though my love for you didn’t end / because the singing ended, the lullaby / moved to a wind that promised a nest…’ This lovely book is a festival of light infused with love, bejeweled by the elemental truths in this earthbound life of family, motherhood, and human desire: ‘Blessed be the one who hears you cry out / like a million pressed stones – / jasper, turquoise, emerald with gold – / and uncovers your breath of bees.’”
—Karen An-hwei Lee