Habitat threshold

Celebrated as "a phenomenal ambassador for our island" by the Guam legislature, Chamorro professor, editor, and writer Perez explores environmental themes endemic to his island home and also to the inhabitants of other Pacific communities and the planet as a whole, such as carbon emissions, sea level rise, and the scourge of omnipresent plastics. Perez applies sharp wit and surprising humor through an expansive variety of forms, from a sonnet that recycles Neruda to a "geo-engineering lullaby" ("Hush little planet, don't say a word, / Daddy's gonna buy you an air filter"). He offers a concrete poem in the shape of an hourglass and haiku that zig-zag down the page (and one that simply asserts itself: "the world / briefly sees us / only after / the eye / of a storm / sees us"). But it's perhaps the poems that speak tenderly about his wife and child that will, perhaps, move readers to action. A wickedly intelligent, endlessly talented poet, to be read alongside Daniel Borzutzky, Juliana Spahr, and Clarissa Mendiola.

A native Chamorro from Guam, Perez has challenged colonial dominance in his excellent "from unincorporated territory" series. Here he examines ecological catastrophe in urgent, forthright language, limning a world pushed to the limit by escalating carbon emissions where "Our daughter falls/ asleep in a plastic crib, and I dream/ that she's composed of plastic,/ so that she, too, will survive/ our wasteful hands." And he wastes no time in connecting this tragic situation to those marginalized worldwide. Addressing surging tropical storms, "Disaster Haiku" states "the world/ briefly sees us/ only after/ the eye/ of a storm/ sees us," and Perez highlights the refugee crisis, which comes partly from climate change, by asking, "Will we build/ a tender country, where the only/ documents needed for citizenship/ are dreams of sanctuary?" VERDICT Not just for environmental activists; showing what an informed poetic voice can do.