I found transformation through poetry. I remember reading poems that literally changed my life. Like, after reading them, I could breathe again. I found self-acceptance, worth, and hope in the breathtaking sadness of Kim Addonizio’s “To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall”. I went on to write similar poems, something deep inside of me whispering that I could find that hope inside of myself. And I know that someone out there still needs to hear that they, too, are lovable, worthy, and deserving of hope.

I felt voiceless as an adolescent, and as a woman finding herself. I self harmed, drifted in and out of unsatisfying and often harmful environments and relationships, and accepted less than I deserved as a human being because I thought that asking for more was selfish. I didn’t know how to express the pain and the deep desire for understanding. I became quiet and withdrew into my internal landscape. It was then that I really started writing, and the poems started to tell a story.

“They Found a Woman’s Body” is the story of how we find a woman at the core of everything. The double entendre is the sadness and trauma of oppression, objectification, abuse and death, but also how where there is mothering, healing, and nurturing, there is inevitably a woman. The verses contain the fears and secrets that we’ve collectively learned to stuff down and not mention – the hopes we were taught to suppress and stifle. The hurting and the healing. These poems are the upheaval of my ache, set loose into the world, and also my personal spells for survival, and for growth.

In this tender and haunting debut collection, Mela leads the reader across a tightrope of vulnerability—exploring the body, its constellations of pain, and the long shadows cast by the male gaze. It is a necessary reminder that our darkest hours are often when we find the strength to let in the light back in.

Like tracing your finger along a map of scars, this book is a journey of trauma, longing, whispered memory, and the continuum of self-discovery. —Dani Barnhart, co-editor of Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism

The poems came together organically, and the manuscript was easy to put together. There is a very clear story arc, the molding and shaping of a meek and submissive creature, the abuse that can befall the meek, and how power is found in speaking out.

I found Vegetarian Alcoholic Press on twitter, a few poets that I greatly admired had published with them and I had heard wonderful things about working with them. Their process is fairly casual and friendly, with no up-front costs. VA Press allows you to provide your own book cover, or they will find cover art for you. I had them design custom cover art for the book, which turned out exactly how I wanted it. I truly love the artist chosen, which you can browse at Saltedteeth.com, and of course you can check out the art designed for my cover as well.

I wanted to write a book which would reveal to the world, and to other women, that we are holding onto these things, that they are heavy, that we are not alone, and more importantly, we can let them go. We can turn it into something we can accept as part of our story and even our strength, and to talk about it.

I chose to donate all the profits I receive from the book to The Center for Black Equity because I know there is a lot of heaviness and hurt in the world right now, and I want to amplify healing for humanity.

Mela Blust is a moonchild, and has always had an affinity for the darkness. She is a trauma survivor, an artist, and a mother. She has been writing poetry since she was a child.

Mela is a Pushcart Prize and three time Best of the Net nominee, and has appeared or is forthcoming in The Bitter Oleander, Burning House Press, Coffin Bell, Moonchild Magazine, Yes Poetry, The San Pedro River Review, Rust+Moth, The Nassau Review, The Sierra Nevada Review, The Santa Clara Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, Collective Unrest, Isacoustic, Rhythm & Bones Lit, and many more. Her new debut poetry collection, Skeleton Parade, is available with Apep Publications, and her new book They Found a Woman’s Body is available for pre-order now from Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. She is a contributing editor for Barren Magazine.

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