Milking a Duck is a visceral experience declared loudly through ideas of healing and trauma, power dynamics and autonomy, self-reckoning and being silenced, betrayal and trust. We are given an intimate accounting of Parfet’s journey towards becoming a mother; an attempt to understand the world through memory, loss, and moving forward. Parfet imagines a future just out of reach.
Seemingly straightforward tasks prove more diffcult than milking a duck. Such tangled emotions are quick to find refuge in the body: “invisible shapes / hold their weight.” While the collection is rooted in trauma, humor and tenderness ground each chapter in (new) life, death, and freedom... “onto crest burst open / cantering towards the sea.”
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In developing the poetic narrative, Parfet invited a group of artist friends to explore these complex realities through drawings, graphics, and photographs, bringing new dimension to the text.
Contributors include: Amanda Charchian, Austyn Gillette, Bliss Braoudakis, Chad Moore, Chelsea Mak, Gia Coppola, Gillian Steiner, Kayten Schmidt, Krys Marshall, Lara Salmon, Libby Gray, Mattea Perrotta, Scott West, Suomo Snook, Vanessa Dahbour, and Zoe Chait.
