2021 Chapbook in Poetry Winner
Robert Okaji’s chapbook, My Mother’s Ghost Scrubs the Floor at 2 a.m., is a beautiful collection of poetry that grapples with the theme of loss. In this book, Okaji uses imagery in his poems to describe his mother and the void she left behind. This gorgeous, heart wrenching collection takes us on a journey of learning how to keep the memories of the people we love close to our hearts and helps us remember that they never truly leave us even after they’re gone. Okaji creates a feeling of familiarity that lets anyone who’s experienced a loss relate to this book. Robert Okaji is a displaced Texan living in Indiana. A seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee, he holds a BA in history, served without distinction in the U.S. Navy, lived the hand-tomouth existence of a bookstore owner, worked as a university administrator, and most recently, bagged groceries for a living. He is the author of multiple chapbooks, and his poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art, Boston Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Panoply, Vox Populi, Indianapolis Review, Book of Matches, Slippery Elm and elsewhere. Visit his blog, O at the Edges, at robertokaji.com. Volume 34.1 109
