Golden is the author of
Once You Had Hands
A book of poems published by Humanist Press, featuring photographs by Michael Wilson.
On deconstruction, grief, and telling secrets.
On origins and absence. Rewriting and reclaiming.
“You want to read these poems, consume them, and rebuild the world because of them”
- Crabfat Magazine
"stunning language that is delicate and raw"
- Humanist Press
"Once You Had Hands is a bold, nuanced debut"
- Cincinnati CityBeat
More reviews
“Tasha Golden's Once You Had Hands is a smart and moving book of poetry. There is a fierce voice here that can make you feel danger without always naming it, and it is indeed a dangerous world that we meet here. Golden has sharp senses and wit in depicting her disappointment and fury at religious promises. There is joy here too, hard won, and quietly compelling.”
– Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Stay and Doubt: A History
“When ‘Christian’ attitudes, rituals, and abuses…are part of one's formative experience of the richness of life itself, how does one extricate oneself from the perversion of this ‘religion’ yet affirm the glory and terror of existence? This book is a feral cry that invents the only form that can contain it…I am at a loss to describe that power. I can only urge you to read it.”
– James Cummins, author of Still Some Cake
“Interspersed with inspired manipulations of poems by the metaphysical Henry Vaughan, and the evocative photos of Michael Wilson, Golden’s work will stay with the reader for a long time.”
– Norman Finkelstein, author of Track