Golems

In Tina Hacker's deft and touching book of poems, GOLEMS, her "mud and clay" creatures enable us, as human beings, to navigate our collective past and present, revealing the humor and pathos around us. The golems are our helpers, whether they defy voter suppression, give a Jewish man a purpose to flee Nazi Germany, attempt to "slaughter COVID-19" or guide William Shakespeare to complete his plays. They transcend all gender and physical boundaries and can be funny, playful: One female golem enjoys the luxury of a cruise, another joins Facebook, and yet another becomes Liz Taylor's ultimate fan boy in the afterlife. The sense of wonder and surprise in her poems will make you laugh and reflect.

-Ann Slegman, Author of Return to Sender and Conversation

A poem in Tina Hacker's GOLEMS declares, "I exist and the world should know it." The same is true for this imaginative and witty excursion into this Jewish folklore presence. Each poem follows a task, from the tender ("Fill a child's wish"), to the practical ("Plan a perfect Seder"), to the whimsical ("Become a dictionary on demand"). The poems whirl together a mosaic of Jewish history, the current call of Black Lives Matter and other issues of our time, and the everyday work of ordinary life. "Turn the tide," the task in one of the poems, is also the task of this whole book, turning the tide so that we can remember who we are, what we survived and what difference we can make in the world.

-Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Kansas Poet Laureate Emerita, Author of How Time Moves: New and Selected Poems

GOLEMS gives us a glimpse into possibilities. We see how magic, history, aspiration, need, and prayer can combine to heal individual lives and the entire world. Each poem in Tina Hacker's collection provides a snapshot of a specific golem, a mythical creature from Jewish folklore, summoned by a human to accomplish a specific task: Comfort a Holocaust survivor, support the BLM protest, or find the nutritious value in chocolate. For every task, large or small, Hacker shows us with compassion and wry humor how the golem gets it done. Each of these poems is clever and poignant, satisfying the desire of the one who conjured the golem, while pleasing the reader as well.

-Martha Gershun, Author of Care and Custody and Co-Author of Kidney to Share