The 2018 publication of Rain Scald, the debut collection of poetry by Tacey M. Atsitty, introduced a voice of exceptional talent into the landscape of American poetry. Alice Fulton, a MacArthur Fellow and award-winning poet, wrote of the book, “...Tempered by hardship, seasoned with experience, this brilliant book witnesses a world Atsitty knows intimately and, in doing so, offers courageous testimony to suffering and spiritual resilience. I can think of no poet writing today whose work is more gorgeous or moving, no one who brings more heart or brains to the page.” The book won the Wisconsin Brittingham Prize for Poetry. With it and numerous publishing credits of the highest echelon, Atsitty sits in rarefied company, particularly in Mormon literature. 

The poet’s website notes her identity: “Tacey M. Atsitty is of the Diné tribe and her clans are as follows: she is Tsénahabiłnii (Sleep Rock People) and born for Ta’neeszahnii (Tangle People). Her maternal grandfather is Tábąąhí (Water Edge People) and her paternal grandfather is Hashk’áánhadzóhí (Yucca Fruit Strung-Out-In-A-Line People) from Cove, AZ.” Soon, the poet’s second book will appear. It is (At) Wrist. The publisher’s description includes this: “Tacey M. Atsitty melds inherited forms such as the sonnet with her Diné and religious experiences to boldly and beautifully reveal a love that can last for eternity.” The book’s cover transports the iconic 1980 portrait by Annie Leibovitz of Yoko Ono and John Lennon taken just hours before he was killed, to new, evocative territory. (The poetry collection arrives from the University of Wisconsin Press November 14, 2023.)