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Marcus Amaker takes daily naps and is Charleston, S.C.'s first poet laureate. He's also an opera librettist, an electronic musician and an award-winning graphic designer. He's an Academy of American Poets fellow, and his poetry has been recognized by NPR, the Washington Post, the Kennedy Center and more. His 10th book of poetry is Hold What Makes You Whole (Free Verse Press, April 4, 2023). He is currently writing an opera with Gillian Rae Perry as part of Chicago Opera Theater's Vanguard Initiative.
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
My 10th poetry book is a balm and a bomb. Hold What Makes You Whole is the result of an intense period of self-care.
On your nightstand now:
Kid A Mnesia by Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood; Grapefruit by Yoko Ono; Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey; The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray; Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein. Yoko Ono is a big inspiration, so I'm always going back to Grapefruit to check my poetic bravery. I'm thankful for Yoko and her fearlessness.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I first read Sylvia Plath's Ariel when I was in high school, and it altered the way I looked at language. Full disclosure: I don't remember many of the books from my childhood, because I was so wrapped up in CDs and tapes.
Your top five authors:
Andrea Gibson, Peter H. Reynolds, Ani DiFranco (song lyrics can count, right? Ani is one of the best), June Jordan, Questlove.
Book you've faked reading:
Anything assigned to me in high school. Sorry, teachers.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works by Simon Parkin. The Dreamcast changed my life when it was released in 1999. The games were so real, and the Sega vibe was the best: they were completely ahead of the game (pun intended?), so I'll always be a champion for that system. This book is a great visual history of a classic era in video games.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Funk & Soul Covers by Joaquim Paulo. As a record collector, I deeply enjoy looking at album covers and learning about new artists. This book is a beauty.
Book you hid from your parents:
I don't have specific memories of hiding a book from my parents, but I know that I hid my punk rock CDs from them. Punk is a type of energy they didn't understand.
Book that changed your life:
Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. I got this for a Christmas gift in 2022, and it's been a savior. I am obsessed with the opportunity to rest and the fact that rest is a choice many of us don't make. Our ancestors gifted us these moments. Moments to be free and to indulge in the quiet. I'm all in.
Favorite lines from a book:
"Just because you are seeing divine light, experiencing waves of bliss, or conversing with Gods and Goddesses is no reason to not know your zip code." And: "A moment's reflection will show you that you play many roles in the course of a day... and that who you are from moment to moment changes. There is the angry you, and the kind you, the lazy you, the lustful you--hundreds of different you's. " --Ram Dass, Be Here Now
Five books you'll never part with:
Be Here Now by Ram Dass; Images: Mirrored from the Heart by Ruth H. Robinson, God Is Dead by Ron Currie Jr.; The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott (what an ending!); The Beautiful Ones by Prince.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Ron Currie Jr.'s God Is Dead. I've never read anything like it. It's such a powerful, surprising and subversive book.
Songwriter you think should be an author:
Fiona Apple. She's the best lyricist I've ever read. The songs are mini-novels. She's a master of metaphor and mood.