in the aftermath by Jessica Nirvana Ram

Written in the aftermath of a close friend's suicide, this poetry collection delves into the specific grief that comes with suicide.

Jessica Nirvana Ram is an Indo-Guyanese poet. She is the author of the poetry collection Earthly Gods (Game Over Books, 2024). Her work has appeared in Hayden's Ferry Review, Prairie Schooner, Honey Literary, and elsewhere. Jessica was a 2022-23 Stadler Fellow, she currently works as the Publicity and Outreach Manager for the Stadler Center for Poetry and Literary Arts. She lives and writes in Lewisburg, PA.

“Beautiful and arresting in its exploration of what's left in the aftermath of suicide, Jessica Nirvana Ram's in the aftermath makes me want to hug my friends and honor my dead better. The poems are wide-spanning in form—free-verse and a staggering crown of sonnets—yet focused on a singular person, a singular event that leaves its speaker in the middle of memory, ideation, and so, so much longing. For lovers of grief and girlhood, this chapbook is sure to bring you to your knees.” —KB Brookins, award-winning author of Pretty

"We know the power of poetry in the wake of unimaginable loss, and with her signature lyrical warmth, Jessica Nirvana Ram amplifies it tenfold. in the aftermath reveals to us the particular alchemy that comes from adorning your grief with tenderness and levity. With disciplined, tight lines, Ram invites us to partake of sunny river afternoons streaked with pink hair dye and french fry grease. As the speaker recalls her beloved college companion, she reckons with the im/materiality of grief like “a quiet child tugging at the hem of [her] shirt.” These poems affirm how the written word allows us to immortalize, forever preserving plates of eggplant parm and late night chats in an idling car. In this tribute, Emma stays with us, twirling forever in a yellow circle skirt." —Rita Mookerjee, author of False Offering