Saturnalia Books, paperback
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Publisher Marketing: In the tradition of magical realism and with the age old appeal of a Quest, Wherever We Float, That' s Home is infused with myth, fable and family legend. Maya Tevet Dayan' s poems transport the reader to a world where past, present and future all want a seat at the table. The speaker is a wife and mother, but also a nomad and a wanderer, continually searching for her place in the world. Accompanying her on this journey are generations of women: grandmothers, daughters and her own mother, who died from cancer. They advise, admonish and applaud her. They hand down wisdom, then suggest that the speaker might want to wash the floor. In language that is deceptively simple, Tevet Dayan traverses the seen and the unseen with equal dexterity. She reminds us that the universe is perched precariously, there are unequal measures of light and dark, but that we ourselves can remain " immaculate and wondering."