Hokis

OnBecoming Hokis

"OnBecoming" is a heroic story of a rising from complex trauma. The collection holds readers by the gripped fist, navigating the only way out of a dark place; taking on the tedious task of unwinding mindsets and patterns, digging deep into the resilience of ancestral blood, and fighting gravity to rise from grief. Intentionally set to release September 27, 2020, the second anniversary of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony at Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, this poetic memoir begins with "Daggers on Ice"- a piece penned by Hokis and Dr. Ford in a dream. Pieces move forward in real-time, dancing between Hokis's life and our shared political reality. She glares directly into flashbacks and family mythology to face truths and overcome. As an adoptee, Hokis the theme of abandonment is a resonating thread in a collection exploring politics, sexualized violence, complex trauma, grief, toxic masculinity, and forgiveness."Nobody else tells our stories. Hokis knows this. Instead of waiting for permission, she delivered a tightly woven, genre-fucking poetic memoir that is permission." - Annah Anti-Palindrome, "DNA HYMN" (Sibling Rivalry Press)"Her selection here is quite unforgettable and will get the grey matter whirling and your heart pumping. How many writers can you honestly say can do that these days? Without a doubt, you will not, you cannot read someone who will remind you of Hokis. She's in a genre of her own."- Candice Louisa Daquin, Editor of National Indie Excellence Award Finalist "SMITTEN: This is What Love Looks Like" (Indie Blu(e))"The genre and convention bending poetic memoir ONUNBECOMING is an act of bravery, a reclamation of self, an exploration of voice. The poet is at once honoring the ancestors and her specific cultural narrative while also weaving a mystical tapestry of self-creation that is celestial and universal, and wholly original, moving beyond familial and societal bonds. Hokis uses language play as a tool for excavating the inner world, stressing parts of words and striking others. More than just a collection of poems, this work is a painstaking chipping away of norms and expectations. We are witness to the poet's creative act of confronting and reimagining history though the alchemy of language, carving out a new personal mythology." Kim Harvey, Associate Editor of Palette Poetry and author of "Facing Gladstone" (Kissing Dynamite Press)