Out of Yearning

In Out of Yearning, Black trans poet Cai Sherley transforms yearning into revelation. These luminous poems navigate gender transition, Black ancestry, family, music, grief, and ecstatic self-discovery through forms as inventive as their vision. By turns intimate and celebratory, Sherley's work refuses shame in favor of embodiment, tenderness, and the powerful act of claiming the body as one's own. A stunning debut, Out of Yearning marks the arrival of a vital new voice in contemporary American poetry, one we believe will help carry the art form into its future.

Out of Yearning is the third of the Bridges Series, hosted by Sibling Rivalry Press, an annual chapbook series curated each year by a different poet invited to serve as guest editor and curator. Each curator selects four authors whose chapbooks will be published by Sibling Rivalry Press, creating space for new voices, unexpected conversations, and vibrant literary community. Rooted in SRP's core belief that poetry builds bridges and saves lives, the series seeks to connect writers across identities, geographies, generations, and experiences while championing work that is fearless and transformative. The 2026 curator is Kay Ulanday Barrett, winner of the 2022 Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, and author of More Than Organs, a Lambda Literary Finalist & Stonewall Honor Award Book.