Not Flowers (Noreen Ocampo)

I have not been able to get “Kitchen” out of my mind for months. And that is how my love for Noreen Ocampo’s Not Flowers began, with an earworm slinking its way into my subconscious. Yes, there is pain present, but overall, this chapbook is a nostalgic and optimistic body of work. It gave me something I’ve been searching for these past couple of years: hope.

—Lannie Stabile, author of Good Morning to Everyone Except Men Who Name Their Dogs Zeus