The barefoot librarian

In a series of poems, each centered around a fictitious librarian, Stacy Russo ruminates on love, art, and family. In one piece, the narrator watches as a romance unfolds between an anarchist librarian and a man 20 years her junior. Another tells the story of a librarian who immerses herself in the Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. The titular poem tells the story of a librarian who can answer any question posed to her, whether it’s about the temperature on Mars or one’s chances of finding love again. Russo’s poems are written in short, fragmented lines of free verse. Many of them take place in California cities, such as Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and LA. — Alekhya