[10/28/25] Fagin, Betsy: self-driving

Autumn House Press, paperback Publication Date: October 28, 2025 Publisher Marketing: "Feminist and humanist, the vision here is both passionate and compassionate. It's a pageturner to be sure." --Kazim Ali Betsy Fagin's self-driving reimagines the American road trip through the lens of a contemporary woman's journey. Rooted in the tradition of the on-the-road narrative, Fagin's poems interrogate the foundations of freedom, representation, and privilege while dismantling romanticized myths of Western expansion and the cis, white, male-dominated tales of the open road. Through sharp, playful, and incisive verse, Fagin celebrates Black, queer, feminist presence and futures, confronting the erasures and delusions in America's frequently told stories. Using images of the great American West and the highways that connect it, she charts a path through landscapes of disenfranchisement toward self-determination and agency. Throughout the collection, self-driving redefines freedom as both a sta