A Lantern for My Ghosts

Some things stay with us: a place we miss, a person we still think about, a version of ourselves we can no longer return to.

A Lantern for My Ghosts is the debut poetry collection by Iranian-American writer Mehrsa Pourabedkashani. Written across different periods of her life, these poems explore memory, home, relationships, identity, and the small observations that make ordinary days worth remembering.

Across four sections, the collection moves from curiosity about the world to the things we carry, the uncertainty of being somewhere in between, and the tentative hope of beginning again. There are poems about missing Iran, finding comfort in solitude, questioning the life we are expected to want, and learning how to move forward without having every answer.

Personal and conversational, A Lantern for My Ghosts offers the feeling of being handed someone's notebook and trusted enough to look inside. It leaves room for conflicting feelings: loving and letting go, feeling lost and still making plans, carrying heavy thoughts while noticing something beautiful.