“Tender. Touching, this book-length poetic narrative reminds me of Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems: “Every day you play with the light of the universe.” Namir’s love poems to his infant son and partner (interspersed with photos), remind me of Neruda’s poems interspersed with Picasso’s drawings. Umbilical Cord: two art forms; two fathers—the narrative of family made anew.” —Betsy Warland, author of Bloodroot: Tracing the Untelling of Motherloss (2nd Edition, 2021)

“Hasan Namir’s new collection expands on his poetic oeuvre, this time turning his lens to his own growing family. This book brings to light the connections that bind us, and the complex ways traditions of domesticity impact how we view our own families, and others. In Umbilical Cord poems are about the complicated, intimate and expansive ways of growing a family, and the cords necessary, to connect and to cut, that build a life.” —Dina Del Bucchia, author of Don’t Tell Me What to Do

“In Hasan Namir’s Umbilical Cord we see a queer revisionism of family that shows how love can link us together like a cord, pushing against the heterocentrism of childrearing. It’s poetry that takes a deep dive into all of the fears and anxieties of parenting as queer, but above all else, this book, at its core, is a love poem.” —Daniel Zomparelli, author of Everything Is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person