New Book by Donna Weir-Soley

Donna Weir-Soley’s, First Rain, has been published by Peepal Tree Press, and is now available on their website. Donna is a Florida-based Jamaican poet who has been widely published in journals such as Macomere, Caribbean Writer, Sage, Carrier-Pidgin, Frontiers and in the anthology, Moving Beyond Boundaries. She was recently awarded a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship for career enhancement.

The advance praise for Donna’s work by Opal Palmer Adisa, Denise Duhmael, and Campbell McGrath, three fine poets in their own right, yet different in their style and approach to poetry, demonstrates the scope of her talent and commitment to her craft.

Advance Praise for First Rain.

These poems of speak of kinship, the stuff that gives one roots and a sense of belonging not just to a particular lineage, but to the world community. The poems journey from Jamaica to New York, to what it really means to be a Caribbean immigrant, and have to make do with unfulfilled or foiled dreams. Mostly, the poems are about love -- enduring, long-lasting, gifted -- written by one who bathes and dresses in love. So read these poems, and experience unconditional love.-- Opal Palmer Adisa, author of Caribbean Passion

First Rain is part memoir through poetry, part mythological journey. Through vivid and haunting narratives, Weir-Soley alters the expected scheme of things, changing how her readers see the world. She gives us a creation fable through Criolla, the origin of the Creole language. She confronts Mawu, the supreme creator of the Ga. In addition, Weir-Soley’s storytelling includes family legends, those of home, emigration, and displacement. First Rain is an amazing and passionate book, with poems of nuanced meditation and engaging thought-provoking anecdote.-- Denise Duhamel

Donna Weir-Soley is a poet of roots and rootlessness, of homecoming and exile. Her fine ear for nation language and the music of human speech is grounded in the soil of her native Jamaica, from which these poems emerge as vibrantly as jackfruit, ackee, and soursop. First Rain is an important and delightful addition to the literature of the Caribbean-American experience.-- Campbell McGrath

Poet and critic, Donna Weir-Soley, was born and grew up in Jamaica. She currently teaches at Florida International University.

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