We Will Not Be Silenced
Editors: Christine E. Ray, Kindra M. Austin, Candace Louise Daquin,
Rachel Finch
163 poems, essays and art, 326 pages
Price: $12.99 print format $4.99 Kindle version
Publisher: Indie Blu(e) Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-7328000-0-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018913952
To Order: indieblucollective@gmail.com
ABOUT THE BOOK:
We Will Not Be Silenced is a compilation of poetry, essay and
art from over 90 contributors. Each artist contributes something
significant about the darkest of all experiences: sexual assault
and harassment. Within the last few years this theme has catapulted
itself to the forefront of American moral consciousness. As one
reads through the essays and poems, as one ponders the messages
depicted in the carefully chosen art, the poignancy, urgency, and
pain of these experiences reaches the reader in ever-deepening waves
of pathos. This book is long past due, shining as it does, the search-
light of truth on shattered lives suppressed too long under the hammer
and tongs of sexual assault.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
It has been my personal policy to always speak my truth. Speaking truth to power has been necessary for me, akin to breathing. However, my singular voice has had little agency.
Here in the anthology all of the voices, heard together, are an army of truth, an arsenal of power. Together, our truth, our voices, matter.
–Katharine Love, author of The Lesbian Chronicles
We Will Not be Silenced is rage and heartbreak, it is the soul-crushing pain of the worst kind of human violation being laid bare for all to see, and it is laid bare with an unflinching power that demands you to keep reading.
We Will Not Be Silenced is not an easy read, but it is an important one, and while the subject matter is sensitive and the words unforgiving, these stories and essays, the poetry and the prose, the art captured within, have done a service to every survivor of sexual abuse and harassment by taking back their power and reliving their horrors without the shame that most survivors feel.
–Nicole Lyons, author of Blossom and Bone.
When I began reading We Will Not Be Silenced, I was shocked at what waited for me. It wasn’t just the staggering statistics from the Forward. It wasn’t just the vivid, albeit brief, moments of just a few things a survivor may have experienced. It was the onslaught of my own history coming back up my throat like bile. While this anthology needs to be read with great care – especially for those that have experienced some kind of abuse or assault in their lives, as it will no doubt be triggering – it is definitely something everyone should be aware of. These things are real. They happen at a staggering rate every day. And the more awareness we can spread about it, maybe – just maybe – we will be able to save someone from enduring some of, or escaping from, their own.
–Sarah Doughty, author of The Silence between Moonbeams and Earthen Witch Universe.
ABOUT THE EDITORS:
Kindra M. Austin is an indie author and editor from Michigan. She's
a founding member of Blood Into Ink, as well as Indie Blu(e). In
addition to her advocacy for trauma survivors, Austin is an active
supporter of the LGBTQ community, and has been published in the
Mansfield Pride magazine.
French born poet Candice Louisa Daquin is the author of five books
of poetry and regular editor, reviewer and contributor to many online
and print magazines and writing collectives. Her work has been
published in Rattle, Northern Poetry Review, Indiana Voice Journal,
Trivia: Voices of Feminism and Memoryhouse Magazine among
others. Daquin is of French/Egyptian heritage and her work reflects
her experiences as a woman, lesbian and immigrant.
Rachel Finch is a UK based writer that originally started using
poetry as a way to accurately express herself after a number of
traumatic experiences in her young life. She is the founder of the
online community Bruised But Not Broken which was started with the
purpose to raise awareness of abuse and trauma and to provide a
place of comfort and support throughout the healing process.
Christine E. Ray is an indie author and freelance editor living
outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having served as Managing
Editor of Sudden Denouement Publications and FVR Publishing, she
founded Indie Blu(e) Publishing with Kindra M. Austin in September
2018. Her first book, Composition of a Woman, is available
through Amazon and other major online book retailers.
FROM THE BOOK:
Behind Closed Doors
tara caribou
Quiet, little girl
Don’t make a sound
Not a word
Mommy doesn’t need to know
She doesn’t love you like I do
I made you
You’re mine
Keep real quiet
Let me see you
It pleases me to touch you
This is the way a Daddy loves his girl
Don’t cry
No, don’t cry
Don’t you want me to love you?
Do what I tell you
Don’t disobey
This feels good, it’s right
This is how Daddy loves his little one
When I come to you next time
I want you ready
With no tears
If you don’t obey I can’t love you
Maybe next time Mommy leaves
You’ll stay home with me instead?
Would you like that too?
I will show you just how much
A Daddy loves his baby girl
Don’t cry
No, don’t cry
Do you want my love?
Then don’t ever cry again
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