suburban suicides by arushi (aera) rege

Limited edition print copy from the 2025 Garden Party Chapbook Contest!
Shipping in Fall 2025!
cover art: The Afterglow by Christina Ortiz

arushi (aera) rege’s suburban suicides is a blistering elegy for youth, otherness, and the desert heat of Arizona. These poems pulse with longing, rage, and the ache of growing up brown and tender in a world that demands survival. It’s a chapbook that burns bright and refuses to look away—raw, lyrical, and unforgettable.

arushi (aera) rege is a queer, chronically-in-pain, Indian-American poet. They tweet occasionally about poetry & motorsports @academic_core and face the perils of Instagram @aera_.writes. A three-time pushcart nominee, they are the proud author of exit wound (no point of entry), BROWN GIRL EPIPHANY, and suburban suicides. They are the EIC of ink&ivy lit and Bus Talk. You can find their website at arushiaerarege.carrd.co.

Praise for suburban suicides:

The teenage wasteland depicted in suburban suicides is one of haunting silence and “champagnedrunk” disorientation. Rege’s poetry beautifully depicts the gaps and spaces in such lethargy, where the desert heat bears down on you and you’re left sitting and contemplating how to “love the desert as is.” This honest and captivating collection seeks to find the joy and the inspiration in these moments of uncertainty, whether it's from the relief of matcha boba or Tracy Chapman vinyls, or the satisfaction that comes from connecting with others after so much longing. It’s a mature work that speaks to the poet’s understanding of their space and what can be found buried underneath the sand.

-Alex Carrigan, Now Let’s Get Brunch (Querencia Press)

Sink into the blood–red skies of suburban suicides by arushi (aera) rege. Each poem–static & lyrical–a call & response–& a window into the dignified, indignity of wanting to love and be loved. rege crafts the indelible narrative of what it feels like to be ‘stuck’ but more importantly, what it feels like to only ever want more. Let them “tell you what it’s like to be everything & nothing all at once.”

 -Sadee Bee, Magic Lives in Girls and My Hurt Shall Devour You