What, Why, How: Nylah Lyman

What:

Frail Union is my first book-length collection of poetry, published by Encircle Publications, currently in bookstores.

Why:

I began writing many of these poems more than a decade ago. At the time, I was involved with a fabulous writing group in central New Hampshire. We called ourselves Women of Words, and we were all poets. We gave readings in the community, and some of the members were already published. They were such an inspiration to me.

I have always been an avid, eclectic reader. I enjoy novels from a wide range of genres, although literary and historical fiction are probably my faves. I also adore a good lyric essay, and of course, poetry is my go-to. I try to read widely within the genre as well, although early influences were Jane Kenyon, Sharon Olds, Jack Gilbert, Czeslaw Milosz, Jane Hirshfield.

How:

In February of 2006, I underwent a bilateral lung transplant. Having been born with Cystic Fibrosis, my lungs had utterly failed by the time I was 30 years old. I couldn’t even tie my own shoes without getting out of breath. Obviously, the transplant was a transformative experience. I wrote lots of poems about it, and the aftermath, some of which are included in Frail Union. I found the writing to be therapeutic, in that it helped me to sort out the mixed feelings and heavy emotions associated with such an event.

I also worked for many years before and after my transplant at a farm in Plymouth, NH. The farmers were my good friends, real salt-of- the-earth kind of people, and we participated in the farmer’s market in town, which my friend was instrumental in founding. This was how I became involved in the early days of the local food movement. I felt a deep connection to the land and the seasons. A lot of the poems in this collection reflect that aspect of my life as well.

In 2008, I enrolled in graduate school. I was accepted at USM’s Stonecoast program in creative writing, and I pursued a concentration in poetry. I met so many wonderful accomplished and aspiring writers there. I had some amazing mentors, including Ted Deppe and Patricia Smith, who ultimately helped shape many of the poems in Frail Union.

In summary, the book is a culmination of more than a decade’s worth of experiences, and I am very grateful for all of the gifted minds that have helped shape these poems in some manner along the way.

THE HEALER

For months, her determined hands
coaxed the sickness up and out of my lungs
until it came to rest, eventually, in her own–
the same way lightning enters a house
through an open circuit: silent, implacable,
and no telling how it might exit again.

Bellevue Literary Review

Bio: 

Nylah Lyman’s poems have appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Hunger Mountain, Poetry Quarterly, Cider Press Review and Stonecoast Review, in addition to other journals. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Program, and has taught workshops on poetry and healing to adult learners. She lives on the coast of Maine.

“A stunning page-turner that stands out in the field of contemporary poetry as distinctly as a solitary sunflower rose from the middle / of the grass like a small yellow sun, Nylah Lyman’s Frail Union is a love letter to all women who secretly know their strength and quietly go about the work of manifesting their ambitions and desires.”

-Lissa Kiernan, author of Two Faint Lines in the Violet and The Whispering Wall

Links:

Frail Union on Amazon

Encircle Publications

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security