“The Former Lives of Saints”: Collaboration, Poetry, and Community

The Former Lives of Saints” is a collection of poetry from Damian Rucci and Ezhno Martin. Rucci is a New Jersey native and hosts the monthly poetry event in the Jersey Shore town of Keyport called Poetry in the Port. He met Martin in Missouri while on a reading tour; Martin still lives there today. Their collaboration on this collection soon followed. The release party for “The Former Lives of Saints” was hosted in Keyport on June 8, 2017.