Learning to Sleep in the Middle of the Bed

Learning to Sleep in the Middle of the Bed got its title before the collection of poems came together. Through poetry, Alexis Cameron Stark wrote her way through difficult and uncomfortable emotions and experiences from her first-year post-grad. Growing up in Metro Detroit, Michigan, Stark took her first leap towards independence by attending the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University, before moving to Grand Rapids in 2019. Learning to cope with life changes and starting over is challenging and requires familiarity with identity and life goals. Accepting the light and dark parts of herself proved to be a cathartic first step.

Learning to Sleep in the Middle of the Bed introduces readers to a quirky, introverted poet, who comfortably shares her struggles with forgetfulness and the inability to keep plants alive but shies away from calling to order food or meeting new people. The author also boldly provides her opinions on her mom's ugly knit sweater in "My Mom's 90s Sweater" and the social construct of gender norms introduced early in childhood with the whimsically titled "Super-patriarchal-color-me-heteronorma-docious." Lighthearted and imaginative poems move into a darker middle, where the poems begin to grapple with a lack of control in "Intuition" and "Red Light, Green Light." "Mantra for Recovery" was inspired by the inmates of the Richard A. Hanlon Correctional Facility, where Stark facilitated writing workshops alongside students from MSU's Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.

The collection's title poem "Learning to Sleep in the Middle of the Bed" confesses Stark's commitment to healing and coping with anxiety through therapy. Alongside her therapist, she processed heartbreak, "Trust Issues," and a new job in a new city. She leaned into her faith along the journey, as described on "Serenity Prayer," and to her physical strength through weightlifting, in "Church in the Wild." The collection concludes with the author's musing on writing her legacy and how she wants to be known as a writer. Poems from this collection have also been featured in the East Lansing Art Festival Poetry Press.