Trying x Trying
Poetry that wrestles with language, loss, and resilience in times of crisis.

In Trying × Trying, Dora Malech dissects the language of our times; she turns over the familiar phrases of politics, parenthood, and pandemic to reveal what lies beneath. Through playing with the double meaning of “trying” as both perseverance and reproductive struggle, these poems navigate public and private spheres and interrogate the words we use to make sense of uncertainty and belief.

With sharp lyricism and restless energy, Malech transforms language into prayer and protest. Sound bends, meanings shift, and repetition becomes a revelation as she traces the tensions between individual and collective experience. Trying × Trying is an enlightening meditation on persistence, reminding us that even in fractured times, poetry finds a way forward.
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Trying x Trying
Poetry that wrestles with language, loss, and resilience in times of crisis.

In Trying × Trying, Dora Malech dissects the language of our times; she turns over the familiar phrases of politics, parenthood, and pandemic to reveal what lies beneath. Through playing with the double meaning of “trying” as both perseverance and reproductive struggle, these poems navigate public and private spheres and interrogate the words we use to make sense of uncertainty and belief.

With sharp lyricism and restless energy, Malech transforms language into prayer and protest. Sound bends, meanings shift, and repetition becomes a revelation as she traces the tensions between individual and collective experience. Trying × Trying is an enlightening meditation on persistence, reminding us that even in fractured times, poetry finds a way forward.
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Trying x Trying

Trying x Trying

by Dora Malech
Trying x Trying

Trying x Trying

by Dora Malech

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Overview

Poetry that wrestles with language, loss, and resilience in times of crisis.

In Trying × Trying, Dora Malech dissects the language of our times; she turns over the familiar phrases of politics, parenthood, and pandemic to reveal what lies beneath. Through playing with the double meaning of “trying” as both perseverance and reproductive struggle, these poems navigate public and private spheres and interrogate the words we use to make sense of uncertainty and belief.

With sharp lyricism and restless energy, Malech transforms language into prayer and protest. Sound bends, meanings shift, and repetition becomes a revelation as she traces the tensions between individual and collective experience. Trying × Trying is an enlightening meditation on persistence, reminding us that even in fractured times, poetry finds a way forward.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780887487118
Publisher: Carnegie-Mellon University Press
Publication date: 10/07/2025
Series: Carnegie Mellon University Press Poetry Series
Pages: 88
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dora Malech is a poet and associate professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and editor-in-chief of The Hopkins Review. Her most recent book of poetry is Flourish, and her poems have appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Poetry, and The Best American Poetry.

Table of Contents

9Dream Recurring
10Attempted Haiku
11Reflexive
13Standards-Based Assessment
15Confessional
16verum factum
17Unaccompanied Minor
18Living Situation
20Color Study
22Diebenkorn, Ocean Park
23In Western Massachusetts
25The News
26Nesting
27Perfect for those corrections in a hurry!
29Address, Delivered
30History
31Arrangement
32Aletheia
34Abbr. Bestiary
37Niqqud
38Y
39Elegy
40From the Dance
41All the Stops
42saw, circular
44New Recipe
45whether
46Tried
48At Times
49Timeline
50Cuando, cuando
51Iris Park
52How to Make It
54With the House to Myself
55Secret Song
56Torah Study
57Dispatch
58Animal Crossing
63The Forecast
65Last Ultrasound
67Ablation
69Gwass
70Early Evening
72Monumental Life Building
73For My Friend Who Is Tired of Children in Poems
74Rearview Mère
75Travelogue
82After “After Us”
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