Tartessos and Other Cities

TARTESSOS AND OTHER CITIES is Claire Millikin's second poetry collection published by 2Leaf Press, which continues her exploration of homelessness. In this work, Millikin employs the emotional depth of poetry to convey feelings related to homelessness and loss. The title refers to Tartessos, a once-thriving city along the Guadalquivir River in Andalusia, Spain, believed to have been destroyed by a catastrophic tidal wave in ancient times. The poems in TARTESSOS reflect on real, lost cities and places rather than mere myths. Throughout the collection, Millikin poses questions like "What happened to home?" and "Where do I come from?" as she investigates the themes of loss within American landscapes. The poems act as archaeological artifacts that endure despite these losses. Spanning locations from New York City to Muscogee Country, Georgia, and from New Haven to the Haw River, TARTESSOS maps out a narrative of disappearances and the resistance to erasure that contribute to the haunting American landscape. Ultimately, Millikin guides readers to understand that home is not merely a physical location, but a space where one truly becomes themselves.