PRESS + PODCASTS
INTERVIEW:
Canvas Rebel
“I’ve had to unlearn the idea that art is frivolous, that it’s something you do only after all the ‘important’ work is done. Especially as a mother now, I’ve felt guilty prioritizing my writing. But art is not a hobby for me. It’s a calling, a way of being. I’ve come to understand that making art is part of how I show up for the world. It’s how I process, connect, and contribute.” -Allison Mei-Li
→ Read on Canvas Rebel
REVIEW:
Mother Love Letters
“[A History of Holding] is, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful books of poetry I’ve ever read…Her debut collection is equal parts moving and delicate, deliberate and evocative. It does exactly what poetry is meant to do — express the seemingly unnamable in an unexpected but necessary shape…books like Allison’s are absolutely necessary for connection and remembering to read the mother as a whole person.” -Violet Carol
REVIEW:
The Turning Leaf Journal
“Mei-Li has a gift for [both seeing and being seen], often centering the gravity of the poem in its final lines, leaving readers heartsick with recognition and eager for more. But the narrative strength of these pieces is deliberate from the very first lines, transporting readers to a darkened room lit only with the glow of a computer, a beach day with kelp crowns, and even a grief-filled trip to a mall Build-A-Bear. In centering readers in the specificity of time and place, Mei-Li really shines, but she also creates haunting liminal spaces where the ‘where’ is deliciously nebulous.” -Bri Gearhart Staton
→ Read at The Turning Leaf
PODCAST:
Meg’s Reading Room
“In our conversation, Allison shares why motherhood gave her the courage to start sharing her work with the world, how connecting with her own voice has helped shape her work as a speech-language pathologist, and why going deep through her writing and creative workshops has been bringing her joy in this season.”
→ Listen to the episode
INTERVIEW:
The Healing Shelf
An author interview series diving into grief and healing.
S. Salazar: Your book truly is a meditation on becoming, and I love that image of stitching ourselves together. Often, when we’re writing, we find ourselves stitching pieces of the books we love into our books. What book inspired you as you wrote, and how did it inspire you?
