your thoughts deserve a decent place to live
a collection of poetry & prose
your thoughts deserve a decent place to live
From R. Clift, comes her third book of poetry & illustrations — a collection entirely handwritten, hand-drawn, and hand-typed on her own personal typewriters.
This book is very much inspired by her late poetry professor, Arthur Smith, who is pictured on the front cover. He passed away in 2018 from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. R. Clift would not be a poet today if it weren't for him. In his memory, she will be donating a percentage of all profits to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Two years later, this book is a thank you to him, a tribute to him, filled with his last words to her. Each title to every poem in this collection is a fragment of a quote she wrote down in her class notes during his lectures.
In these pages you will read about where she came from, those that raised her, catching lightning bugs in glass jars, generations of loss & grief, stumbling towards first loves, running away from heartache, pancakes in Italy, the lessons Art taught her, a sunrise that changed her life— all encompassed to feel nostalgic, warm, and encouraging— like a conversation with someone you love.
This book was written during a few month period of isolation in early 2020, when she had nowhere else to go but deep into memory to find her inspiration. It was an experience altogether new, and it made this book unlike anything R. Clift has ever shared before. This work is a labor of love and vulnerability, now entrusted in your hands, in the hopes that not only will her words reach you, but also those wisdom-filled last words of the man who made this all possible.
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an excerpt from the poem “a poet is a poet”
Please know, whether you are still writing or not— you will forever remain in my memory as the late afternoon classroom of young poets I once knew—
the collective spinning of infinite personality and vulnerable listening— with an open mind—to the man with thin glasses perched on his nose.
The man who gave us a safe space for our voices to stumble out of silence. Do you remember?
Do you remember the eccentric old man before us who insisted we all just call him Art?
Do you remember his voice?
Do you remember your own?
What starlings Are singing
"R. Clift's writing appears to include coping mechanisms and hope in the undertones of their pieces. Often, it seems poets are fueled by negative emotions; they write when they're sad, or angry, or have hate in their heart, and it's rare that those writers ever end their poems on a light note. This writer is very different, however, in that they tend to lean towards a positive ending, reminding the reader, and themselves, that even if things aren't perfect right now, they probably won't stay that way forever."
— Abigail huse, odyssey
“Absolutely blown away by the caliber of work R. Clift created for this book. She is, without a doubt, a poet to keep your eye on.”
— Caleb, amazon review
“Love this poetry book. Rachel is such a great writer and an inspiration to all. And I love how this book is dedicated to her teacher. And she took a few of his quotes and turned them into poems. And also took some of her money made from this book to help the LLS.”