Good morning!
Today, I'm happy to announce that my poem, "Euology for the Embracing Figures of Pompeii," was selected as an honorable mention for the 2024 Stephen A Diabase Poetry Awards!
This poem is a love letter to the two figures found embracing in the Pompeii excavation. When first discovered, the two figures were named, "The Two Maidens." However, later down the road, further CAT scans determined that both people were in fact men who were neither brothers nor father/son. This conclusion brought to light gendered biases about emotional comfort and love where men and masculine folks are often excluded from "softer" narratives. This poem is my eulogy for these two, and my reflection on those biases.
You can read my poem here, along with the other winners.
And you can read more about the embracing figures here.
