Oyster Saloon

Poetry that considers art, family history, and creativity.

This collection charts the life of an artist and her passion for nature through the making of a painting. Poems revel in the space humans occupy within the natural world, considering ways of living that range from harmonious to extractive. Alvarez reflects on petroleum, plastic, robots, monsters, and a swath of art history and family history—from her Latino father’s time working as an artist in Andy Warhol’s Factory to the teachings of Hokusai. Acting asa séance conjuring the voices of the dead as a guide, the book is part elegy to the poet’s mother, who was a painter and gardener. Steeped in the rural New England countryside of the poet’s childhood and the lore of her indigenous ancestral family in Puerto Rico and Mexico, Oyster Saloon straddles contrasting heritage and landscapes and considers what it means to live a creative life.