'a Year & Other Poems' examines the passing of time alongside the passing of grief

In her third poetry collection, 2019 Pulitzer-finalist Jos Charles examines time and what it means to mourn — and how knowing that there is an "after" can teach us to embrace it.

Transcript

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Pulitzer-finalist Jos Charles has a new book exploring the progression of time alongside the passing of grief. NPR's Jeevika Verma spoke to the poet.

JEEVIKA VERMA, BYLINE: In 2016, Jos Charles began writing a long poem called "A Year," which is broken up into sections by month.

JOS CHARLES: Months allow one to consider the time in sort of discrete chunks while at the same time being very silly, because of course, time goes beyond the year, right? Sort of a running parallel to the arbitrariness of the months.

VERMA: The poem is out now as part of Charles' third poetry collection. When Charles started writing the poem, she had just moved to California, was out of work and, as a trans woman, was dealing with issues of mental health and changes in medication.

CHARLES: I applied for this coffee shop job. You know, they had these, like, rainbow flags outside, you know? And they had, like, a trans flag. And I went in to do an interview. And I walked in. And they said, oh, yes, yes, yes, you know? Come back later and we can do an interview. And then I came back. And they're like, oh, just have a seat. We'll get to you. And I'm sitting there, waiting. And I'm noticing people coming in and being interviewed, you know? And I slowly realized, I'm just never going to be interviewed.

VERMA: Jos Charles refers to this feeling of alienation and discrimination in the section of the poem titled "July."

CHARLES: Flags ask out. Pride winds from the terrace. Interview at 6. Interview at 8. A woman waiting unholds your form. A man's bathroom. I'm always in empty summer homes by the sea.

VERMA: Charles says there was a time she would have let this get to her. But she realizes that, as time passes, so does the grief. And it's better to mourn the passing.

CHARLES: And it hurts to mourn. It requires its own time, its own velocity that doesn't map onto the year, really, right? It doesn't map onto month time or clock time, or checking in and checking out of work time.

VERMA: Which is why embracing the limits of time can help.

CHARLES: And it may not be recovery, right? It may not be healing even. It might just be wisdom. But there is an after, you know? And the very fact of that might be enough to keep going.

VERMA: Jos Charles' book, "A Year & Other Poems," is out today as we're now two years into what feels like an endless pandemic. And perhaps by understanding the limits that time places on us, we can learn to embrace it.

Jeevika Verma, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF ANDREW BIRD'S "THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.