Enamel

Author: Han Raschka

Publisher: Bottlecap Press (2023)

Survivorhood is as much about the deconstruction as it is the reconstruction. In Enamel, we witness Han Raschka disassemble themselves through poetry, whether it be yanking teeth or pulling ribs. Hair is shed, flesh is burned, and muscle disintegrated, all so Raschka can “rise again/again/again.”

Enamel also touches on the exteriority of trauma, how surviving it affects those closest to us. Raschka asks their mother “can you imagine/a world/without me?” They reflect on their grandmothers, their partner, loved ones from the past, and even their hairdresser, all in pursuit of determining if “the space I fill/matters all that much.“ Enamel is a collection not just about an individual’s journey with survivorhood, but how surviving trauma is a collective experience.