Asa Drake
@asaldrake.bsky.social
500 followers 590 following 57 posts
Maybe the Body (Tin House, 2026), Beauty Talk (Noemi Press, 2026), One Way to Listen (Gold Line Press, 2023)
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asaldrake.bsky.social
This has been the hardest secret to keep. My debut full-length poetry collection MAYBE THE BODY is forthcoming from @tinhouse.bsky.social in 2026! So, so thankful to Alyssa for believing in my work, and to all the friends and mentors who have cheered me on!
tinhouse.bsky.social
🎉We're thrilled to publish the debut poetry collection MAYBE THE BODY by Asa Drake in Winter 2026! @asaldrake.bsky.social @alyssaogi.bsky.social
Reposted by Asa Drake
rafil.bsky.social
I have approximately zero following on this app, sharing in the hopes it can get in front of the right person. A man I went to college with’s wife was kidnapped by ICE at a green card hearing, and he’s trying to find a reporter who will speak to him about the situation
Reposted by Asa Drake
thepoetslizard.bsky.social
Join us — Luisa A. Igloria @thepoetslizard.bsky.social , Michelle Peñaloza, R.A.Villanueva, & @rhonierika.bsky.social — for a virtual reading & conversation, OUR HISTORY BRINGS US HERE * 8:00 ET, Wed Oct 8 * We're
toasting our books published this past year/this year, so RSVP now at aaww.org/events/
Reposted by Asa Drake
calebw.bsky.social
Assata Shakur exchanged letters with Audre Lorde from prison, and Lorde wrote for her the poem "For Assata":

I dream of your freedom
as my victory
and the victory of all dark women
who forego the vanities of silence

👇Here's the whole poem
For Assata
New Brunswick Prison, 1977

    In this new picture your smile has been to war
    you are almost obscured by other faces
    on the pages
    those shadows are sisters
    who have not yet spoken
    your face is in shadow
    obscured by the half-dark
    by the thick bars running across your eyes
    like sentinels
    all the baby fat has been burned away
    like a luxury your body let go
    reluctantly
    the corners of your mouth turn down
    I cannot look into your eyes
    who are all those others
    behind you
    the shadows are growing lighter
    and more confusing.

    I dream of your freedom
    as my victory
    and the victory of all dark women
    who forego the vanities of silence
    who war and weep
    sometimes against our selves
    in each other
    rather than our enemies
    falsehoods
    Assata my sister warrior
    Joan of Arc and Yaa Asantewa
    embrace
    at the back of your cell.

By Audre Lorde Assata gesturing and smiling
Reposted by Asa Drake
tilleckert.com
1/ I’m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse.

Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away.

Thread 👇
Reposted by Asa Drake
aljazeera.com
“… When we take them into the [operation] theatre they’re alive, they’re bleeding to death".

Australian Dr Saya Aziz, working at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, says she has lost count of how many amputations she has performed aje.io/9v68pu
‘It is a bloodbath’: Australian medic describes situation at Gaza hospital
Dr Saya Aziz, working at al-Shifa Hospital, says she has lost count of the number of amputations she has had to perform.
aje.io
asaldrake.bsky.social
Sometimes I look up dream interpretations like "finding an axe" to interpret my awake life.
Reposted by Asa Drake
aljazeera.com
Israel is pushing towards the centre of Gaza City from two directions, 'sandwiching' Palestinians and forcibly displacing them toward the coast in a bid to drive them out of the besieged enclave’s largest urban centre aje.io/e8bfqz
Panic in Gaza City as Israel advances on centre, ‘sandwiching’ population
People run for lives from air strikes and explosive-laden ‘robots’, as lifelines collapse in Gaza’s biggest urban centre.
aje.io
Reposted by Asa Drake
Reposted by Asa Drake
mskellymhayes.bsky.social
A mainstream outlet finally does more than repeat the official BS statement from ICE about the shooting of Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez. This man's death should be a national scandal. Grateful for indy journalists who questioned the official narrative that corporate outlets mindlessly echoed last week.
Undocumented father killed by ICE agent in Franklin Park shooting had no criminal background, lawyer says
The undocumented father shot and killed by an ICE agent in Franklin Park, Illinois, only had a history of minor traffic violations, not a criminal record, according to his attorney.
www.cbsnews.com
Reposted by Asa Drake
melissahung.bsky.social
Looking forward to this collection of poems by @asaldrake.bsky.social. Explorations of “lineage and future lineage of a body shaped by economic, ecological, and political dissonance” are my jam. Coming February 2026!
tinhouse.bsky.social
Thrilled that @debutiful.bsky.social has the cover reveal for Maybe the Body: Poems by @asaldrake.bsky.social!🐇🐍💖

“A radiant collection.” —Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Cover design by Beth Steidle.

Read more about Maybe the Body and the cover design at the link below!🐇🐍💖

debutiful.net/2025/09/09/s...
asaldrake.bsky.social
It's all my favorite things! 🐍🐰🍌 🪻
asaldrake.bsky.social
Thank you so much to everyone at @tinhouse.bsky.social for taking even the frivolous parts of my heart seriously, and thank you Adam at @debutiful.bsky.social for helping me celebrate this incredible cover!
tinhouse.bsky.social
Thrilled that @debutiful.bsky.social has the cover reveal for Maybe the Body: Poems by @asaldrake.bsky.social!🐇🐍💖

“A radiant collection.” —Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Cover design by Beth Steidle.

Read more about Maybe the Body and the cover design at the link below!🐇🐍💖

debutiful.net/2025/09/09/s...
Reposted by Asa Drake
suzig.bsky.social
There are some empires that destroy themselves…

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t harm others on the way down. My love to Breezy & all harmed by this man & series.

Free Palestine
abitchislive.bsky.social
Ok so in case yall missed the memo like I did. David Lehman, series editor of Best American Poetry is a Zionist ass. Literally feel embarrassed that I wound up in this situation. I was literally the only person of color in a room of 50+ people. It was terrifying.
#poetry #bestamericanpoetry
Reposted by Asa Drake
nezhukumatathil.bsky.social
Say. it. louder. for. the. people. in. the. back! 👏🏽
theferocity.bsky.social
When I see people online, even in jest, suggest that people living in Republican-controlled states should be abandoned because of their politicians, I feel a deep heartache. New York CREATED Donald Trump and none of y’all are ever talk about it the way you disparage Alabama or Mississippi.
asaldrake.bsky.social
This is one of my favorite poems I wrote this winter. It's a little messy but also one I was resistant to change? So glad @cerena.bsky.social and Poet Lore gave it a home in its current form. Every once in a while, I need to protect a sentimental poem.
Year of the Snake

Is it best to plan for the worst? Maybe the plainer sentiment is, 
I will be using my strongest voice 
from here on out. I will make much work in a familiar pattern. 
Assignments, invitations, my own
autonomy to step behind the stanchion (a stop-gap) (a doubleness). 
All my life, I have feared the uncanny 
valley. I have feared being mistaken or a mistake. But the valley is green
and full of objective facts. Blessed 
be the land of conception, green cards and confrontations. I receive messages 
from loved ones asking permission 
to turn off a camera during a conference call, to delay an email, to refuse 
a request. I try not to let the world punish them.
I haven't been reading lately. Except dates. I'm so happy Mom 
will be able to breathe again on Wednesday, 
but since the fires, she’s stopped taking photos of sunsets. Last night, the air 
was so dry I woke up to apply expired lotion. 
This morning, I prepared a tray of jiffy pods. Plump with water, 
they’re seven times their pre-hydration size. 
The way I show control is so, so human. I plan for the next season. 
Best by dates indicate I’m doing everything late. 
Frequently, the sentiment is like this. I try to imagine the future.
Reposted by Asa Drake
splitlipthemag.bsky.social
Oh, we're so grateful for new books 💕 Contributor @taylorbyas.bsky.social’s poetry collection RESTING BITCH FACE was published Aug 26th from Soft Skull Press! Get your copy here: buff.ly/Ym7Ew6W
Two black women mirror each other on a green background with white font.
asaldrake.bsky.social
I'm so sorry this is happening to y'all. When I lost my sense of scent, I slept with a lemon for two weeks and called it my smelling lemon until I could smell it again. There are probably better ways to scent train but I cried over that lemon.
asaldrake.bsky.social
I've been rereading @estherwslin.bsky.social's Cold Thief Place since January when I got an early copy from @alicejamesbooks.bsky.social. It's already one of my favorite books.
therumpus.net
“Each version of the self is at once grounded in the present and oracular, speaking as the prophet of a past life.”

@asaldrake.bsky.social reviews @estherwslin.bsky.social’s Cold Thief Place (@alicejamesbooks.bsky.social).

➡️ buff.ly/uAx3BSS
Reposted by Asa Drake
soleilho.com
holy toledo just about $800 left til @coyotemedia.org hits our pie-in-the-sky stretch goal! and then we launch our sicccccccck worker owned bay area alt weekly on sept 15! givebutter.com/coyotemedia
Launch Coyote Media Collective
A new alt-weekly-style publication is hitting the Bay Area
givebutter.com
Reposted by Asa Drake
washingtonpost.com
Breaking news: Kilmar Abrego García was detained by ICE on Monday after arriving at the agency’s Baltimore field office as part of a required check-in after his release pending trial on human smuggling charges, his attorney said.
Kilmar Abrego García detained by ICE days after release from custody
Kilmar Abrego García was detained by ICE after arriving at the agency’s Baltimore field office as part of a required check-in after his release pending trial on human smuggling charges, his attorney s...
wapo.st
asaldrake.bsky.social
Harryette Mullen's "Regaining Unconsciousness" (out with @graywolfpress.bsky.social) does so much, but maybe my favorite thing about the collection is how it resists the "economic argument" in favor of robust engagement. Much thanks to Elizabeth Metzger and @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social!
Consciousness Multiplied | Los Angeles Review of Books
Asa Drake reviews Harryette Mullen’s “Regaining Unconsciousness.”
lareviewofbooks.org