If there's a powerhouse of poetry that hones in on every feeling that could possibly exist, it's Sierra DeMulder. Also famous for slam poetry, DeMulder wraps her voice around her words and hands them over as the most beautifully piercing gifts. There's no human experience too daunting for her to tackle, and there's no one I'd rather have tackle it than her. She has all the empathy needed to write about subjects she has not experienced personally. And when she does perform on her own experiences, the walls in the room shake. She is most notable for her work on sexual violence, a subject that often triggers instead of uplifts. DeMulder's effect empties you of shame, and it is so strengthening it hurts (the way you need it to hurt).
She has written four collections (Today Means Amen, The Bones Below, New Shoes on a Dead Horse, and We Slept Here).
Some days you will feel dirty.
Some weeks you'll remember how hard it is to breathe in public,
but know this:
the person who did this to you is broken. Not you.
The person who did this to you is out there,
choking on the glass of his chest.
It is a windshield
and his heartbeat is a baseball bat:
regret this, regret this.
— excerpt from "Paper Dolls" by Sierra DeMulder
