Tommy “Teebs” Pico describes himself as a poet (he guesses), a screenwriter (or whatever), a co-host of a dumb podcast for jerks, and begrudgingly as a performer. His books, IRL, Nature Poem, Junk and Feed have received numerous accolades including the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, a Lambda Literary Award, an American Book Award and the prestigious Whiting Award.

Wheaton alumna Sandra Yannone’s poetry amplifies the split-second when the everyday turns into catastrophe; the moment of impact when knowing and unknowing collide; the fusion of before and after. And the aftermaths. All constellate here in Yannone’s first full-length collection, Boats for Women, to orient us toward that “choice/to turn toward a sacred face, a turn/toward your own longing to live.”