GRABBED
ABOUT THE BOOK AND THE MOVEMENT
The Blue Room Collective (aka, Richard Blanco, Caridad Moro Gronlier, Nikki Moustaki, and Elisa Albo), was born in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. We decided to face our outrage instead of leaving it on the table where we sat around discussing the TMZ tape at the Miami Book Fair, where other authors revealed to us that we were hardly alone in our upset and disbelief. The TMZ tape created controversial headlines that disappeared in the next news cycle, but for us, like so many others, the headlines did not fade, and we had to find an outlet. Grabbed is our outlet. Each piece in this anthology is a response to the silence each writer carried—until now.
The stories and poems in this collection include the end of a young girl’s innocence at a neighborhood pool party; a young man confronted about his sexuality by his violent, machista father; a jealous playground altercation; the dark, isolated storeroom of a young man’s first job; a tongue-in-cheek parody of classic literature; and confessions of secrets held for decades. The result of these varied lenses is a kaleidoscope of voices, perspectives, and approaches to similar experiences.
Our writers have mined their collective experiences to reveal their most vulnerable moments, and in some cases, to reveal moments that they have had previously been unwilling or unable to express. What results is a collection of emotional, hard-hitting pieces that speak to the aftermath of violation, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Our voices range from emerging writers to two Pulitzer Prize winners; from a college student to the former U.S. Poet Laureate and The New York Times Magazine's poetry editor; from a librarian to the fifth Inaugural Poet of the United States.
Where can i purchase grabbed?
Can I submit a poem or essay to grabbed?
We are currently not accepting poetry or prose, however we are accepting essays or musings that pertain to #MeToo for publication on our blog. Currently, we can not offer payment, just the glory of being part of bringing attention to this important movement. Contact us here. Bear with us if you don't hear from us right away.
How do i organize a grabbed event in my town?
Contact us here. We would be thrilled to help you set up a Grabbed event in your area.
is grabbed suitable for all ages?
Grabbed deals with sensitive and explicit topics, such as rape, incest, and other sexual misconduct. High school age through college and beyond is probably age appropriate. Younger readers may have difficulty with some of the subject matter, though there are certainly pieces in the book that would appeal to and be appropriate for young adults.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU FOR PRESS OR MEDIA?
Please email us from our contact page.
GRABBED TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD By Joyce Maynard
INTRODUCTION By Caridad Moro-Gronlier
I. STRANGERS
What We Did This Year by Freesia McKee
The Truth Is I Never Left You by V. Alexandra Regalado
Sweet Sixteen by Brenda Cardenas
She Said Stop Here by Cynthia White
Found Poem: Chorus to a Girl by Holly Mitchell
Flashbulb Memory by Iris Jamahl Dunkle
Kidnapped Girls by Catherine Gonick
Hitchhiker by Cynthia White
Tuesdays by Yvonne Cassidy
Duplex by Jericho Brown
Sawdust by David Moscovich
Doctor’s Office, First Week In This Country by Javier Zamora
Dispatch From My Early 20s by Catherine Esposito Prescott
The Man With The Violin Case by Ruth Behar
Grabbed Villanelle by Catherine Esposito Prescott
Tenement Trick by Vanessa Garcia
Yellow American Woman by Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello
Popponesset by Eileen Myles
That Autumn Sunday by Gerry La Fermina
Daughter, They’ll Use Even Your Own Gaze To Wound You by Beth Ann Fennelly
Bingo Night For Missing and Exploited Children by MB McLatchy
105 Degrees, South by Lucia Leao
Epistle From The Hospital For Harassment by Jenny Molberg
In Support of Violence by Christopher Soto
Creation Story by Mia Leonin
Angel Heart In Istanbul by Caitlin McDonald
Layover by Jericho Brown
When In Madagascar by Vikki Hendricks
The Opposite of Monsters by Laura Lee Huttenbach
The Worlds Words Make by Zoe Welch
In Guiding Dragon-Wasp Behavior Of Deviant Tentacles Beneath The underskirt Of An Unsuspecting Queen by Catherine Moore
The Shape of Other People by Kelly Sundberg
II. INSTITUTIONS
Where To Bow To The Will of The Majority by Jen Karetnick
Women Have Been Trained by Marge Piercy
The Pallor of Survival by Laure-Anne Bosselaar
Like Judith Slaying Holofernes by Paul Tran
me too by Nicole Callihan
Girl at The Window by Rhonda J. Nelson
Redemption by Barbra Nightingale
Here’s My Pussy by Nicole Callihan
How We Lived by Emma Trelles
Sky by Michael Hettich
Questionnaire For Two Pussies by Maureen Seaton and Denise Duhamel
GB2G4 by Michael Mackin O’Mara
Me Too–The Fall of Man by Cynthia Neely
A Brief History in Pink by Michael Mackin O’Mara
One In Four by David McLoghlin
The Peach Orchard by Rita Dove
Recipe For Resistance by Jen Karetnick
Killing by Miriam Bird Greenberg
Testimony by Denise Duhamel
Words That Know the Sun by Yaddyra Perlalta
Body Politic by Bosch Jones
Speaker of the House by Sapphire
It’s Just Words, Folks, It’s Just Words by Denise Duhamel
III. IMPOSTERS
Grope by Jessica Cuellar
At Least I Didn’t Rape You by Caridad Moro
Cocoa Beach by Terry Godbey
Crank Caller by Nikki Moustakki
Sweet Sixteen by Terry Godbey
Summer Job, Circa 1997 by Catherine Esposito Prescott
Puerto Rican Pussy by Ana Menendez
Up For Grabs by Maggie Smith
Me Too Limerick with Drum Beats by Brenda Hillman
What She Told Me by Silvia Curbelo
Pink Underpants by Molly Peacock
El Americano in the Mirror by Richard Blanco
Threshold by Julie Marie Wade and Denise Duhamel
When A White Man Attempts to Steal Your Soul by Hari Zyiad
Said The Poet by Jenny Molberg
NY At International Judo Camp by Kyle Lopez
The Gift Rita by Maria Martinez
Date Grape by Freesia McKee
For A Minute There, I Though We Could’ve Been Happy by Cathleen Chambless
IV. HOME
Too Old For That, Now by Caridad Moro
Blackout by Elisa Albo
At Any Age by Elisa Albo
A Root by Annie Finch
The Things Ma Says by Bosch Jones
The Lion Head Belt Buckle by Virgilio Suarez
X Marks The Spot by Oliver Brantome
Those Sundays by Christopher Soto
Learning by Gail Carson Levine
Telling by Ivonne Lamazares
Psych Ward by Colleen Sutton
Because What We Do Does Not Die by Ellen Bass
Gender Bender by Jennifer Michael Hecht
In Memoriam, Ann by Debra Dean
Blindsided by Angela Bonavoglia
First Kiss by Lynne Barrett
Cuban Girls Don’t Wear Tampons by Caridad Moro
Seven Times Seven by Trish MacEnulty
AFTERWORD By Anita Hill
FOREWORD By Joyce Maynard
INTRODUCTION By Caridad Moro-Gronlier
I. STRANGERS
What We Did This Year by Freesia McKee
The Truth Is I Never Left You by V. Alexandra Regalado
Sweet Sixteen by Brenda Cardenas
She Said Stop Here by Cynthia White
Found Poem: Chorus to a Girl by Holly Mitchell
Flashbulb Memory by Iris Jamahl Dunkle
Kidnapped Girls by Catherine Gonick
Hitchhiker by Cynthia White
Tuesdays by Yvonne Cassidy
Duplex by Jericho Brown
Sawdust by David Moscovich
Doctor’s Office, First Week In This Country by Javier Zamora
Dispatch From My Early 20s by Catherine Esposito Prescott
The Man With The Violin Case by Ruth Behar
Grabbed Villanelle by Catherine Esposito Prescott
Tenement Trick by Vanessa Garcia
Yellow American Woman by Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello
Popponesset by Eileen Myles
That Autumn Sunday by Gerry La Fermina
Daughter, They’ll Use Even Your Own Gaze To Wound You by Beth Ann Fennelly
Bingo Night For Missing and Exploited Children by MB McLatchy
105 Degrees, South by Lucia Leao
Epistle From The Hospital For Harassment by Jenny Molberg
In Support of Violence by Christopher Soto
Creation Story by Mia Leonin
Angel Heart In Istanbul by Caitlin McDonald
Layover by Jericho Brown
When In Madagascar by Vikki Hendricks
The Opposite of Monsters by Laura Lee Huttenbach
The Worlds Words Make by Zoe Welch
In Guiding Dragon-Wasp Behavior Of Deviant Tentacles Beneath The underskirt Of An Unsuspecting Queen by Catherine Moore
The Shape of Other People by Kelly Sundberg
II. INSTITUTIONS
Where To Bow To The Will of The Majority by Jen Karetnick
Women Have Been Trained by Marge Piercy
The Pallor of Survival by Laure-Anne Bosselaar
Like Judith Slaying Holofernes by Paul Tran
me too by Nicole Callihan
Girl at The Window by Rhonda J. Nelson
Redemption by Barbra Nightingale
Here’s My Pussy by Nicole Callihan
How We Lived by Emma Trelles
Sky by Michael Hettich
Questionnaire For Two Pussies by Maureen Seaton and Denise Duhamel
GB2G4 by Michael Mackin O’Mara
Me Too–The Fall of Man by Cynthia Neely
A Brief History in Pink by Michael Mackin O’Mara
One In Four by David McLoghlin
The Peach Orchard by Rita Dove
Recipe For Resistance by Jen Karetnick
Killing by Miriam Bird Greenberg
Testimony by Denise Duhamel
Words That Know the Sun by Yaddyra Perlalta
Body Politic by Bosch Jones
Speaker of the House by Sapphire
It’s Just Words, Folks, It’s Just Words by Denise Duhamel
III. IMPOSTERS
Grope by Jessica Cuellar
At Least I Didn’t Rape You by Caridad Moro
Cocoa Beach by Terry Godbey
Crank Caller by Nikki Moustakki
Sweet Sixteen by Terry Godbey
Summer Job, Circa 1997 by Catherine Esposito Prescott
Puerto Rican Pussy by Ana Menendez
Up For Grabs by Maggie Smith
Me Too Limerick with Drum Beats by Brenda Hillman
What She Told Me by Silvia Curbelo
Pink Underpants by Molly Peacock
El Americano in the Mirror by Richard Blanco
Threshold by Julie Marie Wade and Denise Duhamel
When A White Man Attempts to Steal Your Soul by Hari Zyiad
Said The Poet by Jenny Molberg
NY At International Judo Camp by Kyle Lopez
The Gift Rita by Maria Martinez
Date Grape by Freesia McKee
For A Minute There, I Though We Could’ve Been Happy by Cathleen Chambless
IV. HOME
Too Old For That, Now by Caridad Moro
Blackout by Elisa Albo
At Any Age by Elisa Albo
A Root by Annie Finch
The Things Ma Says by Bosch Jones
The Lion Head Belt Buckle by Virgilio Suarez
X Marks The Spot by Oliver Brantome
Those Sundays by Christopher Soto
Learning by Gail Carson Levine
Telling by Ivonne Lamazares
Psych Ward by Colleen Sutton
Because What We Do Does Not Die by Ellen Bass
Gender Bender by Jennifer Michael Hecht
In Memoriam, Ann by Debra Dean
Blindsided by Angela Bonavoglia
First Kiss by Lynne Barrett
Cuban Girls Don’t Wear Tampons by Caridad Moro
Seven Times Seven by Trish MacEnulty
AFTERWORD By Anita Hill
