Witnessing Grief: Feminist Perspectives on the Loss-Body-Mind-Self-Other Nexus and Permission to Express Feelings

These two autobiographical poems, written on different continents, span some sixteen years; they speak for themselves (and those they enfold), but they also speak to each other. Both speak of poetic response to death and loss—literally and metaphorically. They also highlight the intermeshed materiality and embodiment of grief, the sheer viscerality and emotional weight of grief at that time; grief at once immaterial and physical burden. Our reasons for writing this chapter together were driven by mutual respect for each other’s work, and enough stolen conversations at conferences to suspect that the sum of our parts might amount to