A prominent avant-garde poet charts both her personal artistic development and the difficulties faced by women writers pursuing innovative paths.

An accomplished and influential poet, Kathleen Fraser has been instrumental in drawing attention to other women poets working
outside the mainstream. Translating the Unspeakable gathers eighteen of her essays written over nearly twenty years, combining autobiography and criticism to examine what it means for any artist to innovate instead of following an already traveled path.

In autobiographical passages...

Grief can drive you to your knees, overtake you suddenly, and challenge you over and over again to find ways to simultaneously live and mourn. Its ability to exhaust us and to shake our stability seems to be greatest on special occasions. It is these landmark days that most challenge our ability to be present and find ways to make it through the day. "Mourning and Milestones: Honoring Anniversaries, Birthdays and Special Occasions After a Loved One Dies" helps to ease the burden of invention for grievers who are searching for ways to both honor their loss and live in the present. Widow, and...