Hurricanes, Cypress Trees, and Other Synonyms for Home by Emily Fontenot

Hurricanes Cypress Trees and Other Synonyms for Home by Emily Fontenot is a hybrid collection that combines poetry and prose to reckon with a cultural legacy facing the imminent threat of erasure and submersion in the wake of the rising sea levels and catastrophic natural disasters. Fontenot writes with a sense of bravery and resiliency in the face of a bleak, uncertain future. Using careful attention to language, Fontenot encapsulates the moods of southern culture, which is by turns both beautiful and haunting. The author displays a breadth of emotions that are powerful in their vulnerability, as Fontenot establishes herself as a capable arbiter of a threatened culture. With compassion, creativity, and a healthy respect for the people, places, and experiences that shaped her during her formative years, Fontenot seeks to preserve these indelible aspects of life in south Louisiana, even as she warns us to “anticipate loss.”