I’m about to put out this collection of poems that are about my family–me, my son, and his dad. It’s ten pieces about fighting to stay together through pregnancy, prison, and heartbreak. There’s sex and bedbugs and jail visitation and more. The title Jacob’s Hip references an all-night biblical fight between Jacob and an angel that left Jacob with a new identity as well as an injured hip.

Below are links to three previously published poems from the book. “Pregnant in Grad School” details my final year of my master’s degree in literature. I was a TA and, yea, pregnant. “After Prison” is about my son’s dad’s trying to get out of the streets. It tells his story from my perspective. And “Repeat Visitor” is about bringing my son to jail visitations to see his dad. The narrative follows him navigating the facility.

Here they are:

Pregnant in Grad School
After Prison
Repeat Visitor

-Rachel Wagner 2020