Asa Drake

@asaldrake.bsky.social

603 Followers 616 Following

Maybe the Body (Tin House, 2026), Beauty Talk (Noemi Press, 2026), One Way to Listen (Gold Line Press, 2023)

A watercolor illustration of an axolotl and the American flag in a crowd being teargassed at a Portland ICE protest (based on a photograph by Amanda Moore)
Year of the Snake Is it best to plan for the worst? Maybe the plainer sentiment is, I will be using my strongest voice from here on out. I will make much work in a familiar pattern. Assignments, invitations, my own autonomy to step behind the stanchion (a stop-gap) (a doubleness). All my life, I have feared the uncanny valley. I have feared being mistaken or a mistake. But the valley is green and full of objective facts. Blessed be the land of conception, green cards and confrontations. I receive messages from loved ones asking permission to turn off a camera during a conference call, to delay an email, to refuse a request. I try not to let the world punish them. I haven't been reading lately. Except dates. I'm so happy Mom will be able to breathe again on Wednesday, but since the fires, she’s stopped taking photos of sunsets. Last night, the air was so dry I woke up to apply expired lotion. This morning, I prepared a tray of jiffy pods. Plump with water, they’re seven times their pre-hydration size. The way I show control is so, so human. I plan for the next season. Best by dates indicate I’m doing everything late. Frequently, the sentiment is like this. I try to imagine the future.
Harryette Mullen's "Regaining Unconsciousness" in front of plants.
Screenshot of "Subduction" from Poet Lore's Summer/Fall 2024 issue.
2024 Noemi Press Book Award Winner "Beauty Talk" by Asa Drake. We will also be publishing "Murmuration Archives" by Felicia Zamora as part of the Akrílica Series.
https://poets.org/poem/girl-0
Asa Drake reading from behind a podium. She's wearing glasses and a red/orange dress.