Exploring Communal History Through Poetry: The Work of Remica Bingham-Risher
Plus, we get into birth
It’s hard to believe that we’re already on Episode 5 of Season 3 and, as always, I’m so excited to share today's episode with you, featuring poet Remica Bingham-Risher, an incredibly talented — and I hate to use that word when it comes to art, but truly, she's one of those people who both in person and also through her work, is just really, simply put, talented.
After I read her poems, I knew I had to talk to her. You can listen to the episode on Spotify or Apple.
Bingham-Risher is the author of Conversion, which was winner of the Naomi Long Magit Poetry Award, What We Ask of Flesh, which was shortlisted for the Hurston Wright Award, and Starlight in Error, winner of the Diode Editions Book Award. Her first book of prose, Soul Culture: Black Poets, Books, and Questions that Grew Me Up was published by Beacon Press in 2022.
And her most recent book of poems, Room Swept Home (which is the focus of this episode) was published by Wesleyan in February of this year. Room Swept Home is a “gloriously rendered magnifying glass” that “treads the murky waters of race, lineage, faith, mental health, women's rights, and the violent reckoning that inhabits the discrepancy between lived versus textbook history, asking: What do we inherit when trauma is at the core of our fractured living?” as described by Bookshop.
In this episode, we talked about all of the research that Bingham-Fisher did to build Room Swept Home, which is truly an epic work of archival research, as well as a personal memoir and a communal history.
It’s also a lot about birth, and it was really refreshing for me to speak with Remica about the ways in which she encountered birth in this collection of poetry and how the narratives of childbirth through her own personal history have become such a compelling and fruitful space for her own exploration as a person, as a mother, and as an artist.
Bingham-Risher, a native of Phoenix, Arizona, is an alumna of Old Dominion University and Bennington College. She’s currently the Director of Quality Enhancement Plan Initiatives at Old Dominion University, and she lives in Norfolk, Virginia with her husband and children.
I’m so grateful we had the chance to connect, and I really hope you enjoy our conversation!
Recommended Reading
Rags To Riches: The Race To Understand, And Profit From, Period Blood by Maddie Jones for Mother Jones. The article discusses the historical and scientific neglect of menstruation and period blood, highlighting how societal taboos and sexism have hindered research and understanding, while also exploring new insights into the potential health benefits and diagnostic uses of menstrual blood. Highly recommend.
Swedes take a new step in parental leave. Grandparents can now get paid to take care of grandkids. By Jan Olsen for the Associated Press. It is baffling (or maybe it isn’t?) how far behind the US is on just about every measure of kindness, compassion, and community. Crumbling…
The poem of the month from
is a must-read. Also, literary submissions for their annual print issue and for MER Online Quarterly close on July 15. Learn more about how to submit your work here.
One Charity to Know About: The Audubon Society
In a recent Instagram post, I shared that I’m an SOB: Spouse of a Birder. That means I’m often responsible for taking photos of birds from the passenger seat of the car during travel. I like being an SOB and want this role to continue, so if you can, consider a donation today.