Poetry Reading & Discussion: Sunlight Trapped in Stone with Natalya Sukhonos

Journeying into Natalya's immigrant past and the stories of others, her new book wanders through the fields of war-torn Ukraine, the stones of Guadalajara, and the frigid shores of Halifax during World War II. Roaming through rain-soaked forests, treacherous deserts, and the whimsical architecture of childhood, we hear voices of immigrants, refugees, and lovers; children yet unborn and those sprinting to their next adventures; mothers and fathers; grandparents both wise and defeated; and adolescents luminous with wonder and paralyzed by their own bodies. How does poetry cradle a sea of voices? Ensconced in the amber of memory, how do they emerge full-blooded and speak to us with urgency?

A native of Odesa, Ukraine, Natalya Sukhonos speaks Russian, English, Ukrainian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard and is a poet, scholar, and teacher committed to the power of language to uplift, inspire, and defamiliarize us from the ordinary. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2015 and 2020 and the Best New Poets Anthology of 2015, Natalya was a finalist for the June 2025 Reading Period of the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. Her books include Parachute (Kelsay Books of Aldrich Press, 2016) and A Stranger Home (Moon Pie Press, 2020). Sunlight Trapped in Stone is her third book. Natalya lives with her two daughters and her husband, writer Ian Ross Singleton, in Upstate New York. More information about Natalya and her work is available at natalyasukhonos.com.

Natalya will read from her book and take questions from the audience.