Sign and Breath

By: Christal Brown

Published by Etruscan Press, 2025

<i>Sign & Breath</i> is a new critical anthology that takes a different approach to exploring these questions: What is poetry? What defines voice? Featuring a range of contemporary artists, many of whom work across different mediums and genres, <i>Sign & Breath</i> introduces the reader to one page that sings in any genre - prose, fiction, poetry, spoken word, hybrid forms, and song - across diverse traditions. <p><br></p> <p>Rather than define poetry as a genre with conventions, traditions, codes, and modalities, this book features poetry as a faculty that thrums in all written and spoken art. Readers are introduced to a text followed by a discussion with the author about creating the piece, ties to creative lineage, and the definition of voice through their practice. </p> <p><br></p> <p> This anthology contributes to the dialogue among genres which will reframe the understanding of poetry as an aesthetic experience of language. With one page that sings in any genre, <i>Sign & Breath</i> presents a new, inclusive perspective on poetry while two questions remain: Do we have a clearer understanding of what defines poetry? Do we have a clearer understanding of voice?</p>