Ed Pavlic Boeken

The collection of experiential poems explores themes of race and identity through sonic memories, from music to personal moments. The author combines introspection with "inter-spection," encouraging a collective reflection on the boundaries of racial and geographic segregation. With lyricism that evokes deep thought, the poems emphasize the transformative power of words. A pivotal moment recalls a teacher's quote about the strength of written language, illustrating the profound impact of these experiences on the author's understanding of connection and identity.

How can the speculative imagination help us build a better world?At a world-historical moment of global upheaval, speculative writing is enjoying a renaissance. This collection of poetry, stories, and essays engages speculation as both a ubiquitous feature of financial capitalism and a radical tool of collective imagination. By rejecting dominant ideas about what is possible, speculation empowers us to plot new paths to a more just world.Creative works range over violence and healing, memory and erasure, and alternative worlds, while essays span the meaning of land and community in the African diaspora, Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction, and the ethics of the far future. Taken together, these works suggest that speculation is ultimately about our relationships with each other—as one contributor puts it, “what they have been, what they are, and most important, what they could be.”