On Tuesday, Sep. 20 at 7:00 p.m, Dr. Jayme Ringleb, assistant professor of English, will launch a collection of poems titled So Tall It Ends in Heaven at Quail Ridge Books on Lassiter Mill Road. The book can be preordered online from Quail Ridge or event attendees can receive a signed copy from Dr. Ringleb themself. Dr. Ringleb is “thrilled to launch the book” and converse with Ina Cariño, a fellow poet whom they admire.
Ringleb told The Herald that So Tall It Ends in Heaven follows a speaker who attempts to restore his relationship with his father. They both live in different countries, and the father rejected his son after learning his son is gay. Ringleb says, “The book is in many ways trying to illustrate what happens to queer people when they come out: we so often lose people we love, so our understanding of what love is can become very heavily influenced or even changed by the grief of that loss.”
Some inspiration for the book, Ringleb said, came from “writing a narrative about queer healing” and being in control of the story. They also stated, “For me, writing has consolatory value: the act of transforming a psychological pressure. . .into a tangible piece of writing has, I think, been a healthy practice for me.”
In regards to his experience publishing for the first time, Ringleb said they had a “wonderful experience” during the publishing process and that they developed a “strong collaboration and partnership” at Tin House Books. Ringleb added, “The actual reality of having a book out in the world hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”
Finally, Dr. Ringleb stated, “It’s a real privilege to be read–to have readers who spend their time investing in and considering your writing, who make it meaningful to their own life experiences. I don’t know that I have the words for how humbling it is to know that people will be doing that with my little book.”
By Kayla Dunn, Contributing Writer