Novels
Cover photography: Alanna Airitam
THE HOUSE OF ERZULIE | 2018, Shade Mountain Press
Audiobook | 2019, Highbridge Audio
Narrated by Adenrele Ojo and Ron Butler
Editors' Choice: Historical Novels Review | The Center for Trauma & Resilience Inclusiveness Book Club
"I rarely say that I can’t put a book down, but The House of Erzulie left me besotted. Highly recommended." Historical Novels Review
The House of Erzulie "sits on the shelf with Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca: restless ghosts, body horror, dastardly secrets, loves that should not be." Adroit Journal
"A poetic exploration of the mysteries of love and desire; Kasai gives voice to the specters haunting the silences in marriages, and the horror that grows from secrets kept between husbands and wives. Intriguing and compelling at every turn, the novel confronts an awful truth about slavery and brings to light a little discussed fact of African American history. Provocative and enlightening, this novel is a pleasure to read." Maisha L. Wester
"Kirsten Imani Kasai makes the macabre beautiful. She crafts a story that explores superficial scares while also delving into more complex topics like generational trauma and the horrors of slavery. The House of Erzulie makes you wonder what truly haunts our history, and how, if ever, we can escape it." Foreword Reviews
"Kasai’s novel exists within a line of Gothic texts by authors such as Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison, Attica Locke, and others that work to expose the tangible manner in which the past still affects us in the present." Interminable Rambling
"Kasai explores the horrors of slavery and its legacy in this gothic tale that tingles on the verge of psychological horror." Library Journal
"Compelling and grim ... a propulsive read, full of commentary on ethnic identity, mental illness, and power. " Booklist
"... blurs the edges between dream and reality, madness and magic, beauty and brutality, darkness and desire, with an unflinching eye and lush, deeply visceral language. This book had me mesmerized, completely under its spell." Gayle Brandeis, author of The Art of Misdiagnosis and The Selfless Bliss of the Body
Audiobook | 2019, Highbridge Audio
Narrated by Adenrele Ojo and Ron Butler
Editors' Choice: Historical Novels Review | The Center for Trauma & Resilience Inclusiveness Book Club
"I rarely say that I can’t put a book down, but The House of Erzulie left me besotted. Highly recommended." Historical Novels Review
The House of Erzulie "sits on the shelf with Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca: restless ghosts, body horror, dastardly secrets, loves that should not be." Adroit Journal
"A poetic exploration of the mysteries of love and desire; Kasai gives voice to the specters haunting the silences in marriages, and the horror that grows from secrets kept between husbands and wives. Intriguing and compelling at every turn, the novel confronts an awful truth about slavery and brings to light a little discussed fact of African American history. Provocative and enlightening, this novel is a pleasure to read." Maisha L. Wester
"Kirsten Imani Kasai makes the macabre beautiful. She crafts a story that explores superficial scares while also delving into more complex topics like generational trauma and the horrors of slavery. The House of Erzulie makes you wonder what truly haunts our history, and how, if ever, we can escape it." Foreword Reviews
"Kasai’s novel exists within a line of Gothic texts by authors such as Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison, Attica Locke, and others that work to expose the tangible manner in which the past still affects us in the present." Interminable Rambling
"Kasai explores the horrors of slavery and its legacy in this gothic tale that tingles on the verge of psychological horror." Library Journal
"Compelling and grim ... a propulsive read, full of commentary on ethnic identity, mental illness, and power. " Booklist
"... blurs the edges between dream and reality, madness and magic, beauty and brutality, darkness and desire, with an unflinching eye and lush, deeply visceral language. This book had me mesmerized, completely under its spell." Gayle Brandeis, author of The Art of Misdiagnosis and The Selfless Bliss of the Body
"Kasai’s Ice Song and Tattoo are so much more than just a fusion of visionary science fiction and folklore-powered fantasy – they’re deeply reflective societal self-examination. And, trust me, that reflection in the mirror isn’t pretty...Powered by a cast of emotionally compelling and memorable characters and a storyline impressively tapestried with provocative themes and ideas, Tattoo is essentially deeply philosophical and poetic contemplation cloaked in visionary science fiction...Readers looking for a strong new female voice in science fiction/fantasy should seek out and read asap." Paul Goat Allen, Unabashedly Bookish
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TATTOO (Book Two)
2011, Del Rey/Random House E-book includes four bonus short stories. "Ursula Le Guin fans rejoice: Kirsten Imani Kasai's Tattoo—her follow up to 2009's brilliant Ice Song — tackles the same kind of paradigm-shifting worlds Le Guin did so well...The fact that there are addictive aphrodisiacal tattoos in the story is just a kinky bonus." The Advocate "Tattoo raises the stakes considerably...this novel is the most underrated of 2011, not receiving nearly enough attention. Comparisons to Ursula K. Le Guin, Tanith Lee, and Angela Carter are well-deserved, given the kinetic energy of Kasai’s style and her unique imagination." Jeff VanderMeer, Locus Magazine "Tattoo revels in the lushly erotic while remaining aware of the costs of addiction and self-indulgence." Publisher's Weekly "Very visual and quite dark, Tattoo just like its predecessor explores the corporate greed and the world of vice ...The characters feel like they just stepped out from Rocky Horror Show - vivid, dramatic and always askew." Nocturnal Book Reviews |
Short Fiction, Essays & Poems
Sally Shore, Alex Boling, Kirsten Imani Kasai and Barbara Keegan at The New Short Fiction Series, LA.
"Free to Good Home" The Baltimore Review
"Brain in a Jar & Other Stories" New Short Fiction Series
"Black Sun" Drunk Monkeys
"A Snail Without its Shell is a Slug" Art & Letters
“Best Served Cold,” Hunger: A Feast of Sensual Tales about Sex & Gastronomy (Sizzler Editions, 2013)
"Eat, Drink, and Be Wary: Autosarcophagy and Autoerotism in Body Horror Cinema" The Body Horror Book (Oscillate Wildly Press)
"Kirsten Imani Kasai’s essay ... draws parallels between female self-mutilation, plastic surgery, and self-cannibalism, then recontextualizes them as assertions of feminist agency.
THE NARRATORS SAN DIEGO Ep. 106: “Karmic Justice” podcast
The Naked Truth about Middle-Aged Womanhood in America
"Hereditary: Confronting the Good Mother"
"To Be Young, Biracial And Absolutely Not A Tragic Mulatta" AOL Black Voices
"Writing a Better Ending: How Feminist Utopian Literature Subverts Patriarchy," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.
"The Walking Dead: HIV/AIDS and the Changing Face of Zombies in Literature"
"Redefining Utopia: How Feminist Utopian Literature Can Serve as a Model for Creating Workable Futures" (2014 winner Antioch University Los Angeles Library Research Award)
"Bringing the Arts into the Creative Writing Classroom: A Tangible Approach to Teaching Narrative Structure"
"Drowning by the Wolf Moon's Light" Suvudu.com
"Edgar Allen Poe Complete Tales and Poems" Annotation Nation
"The Confessions of an English Opium Eater" Annotation Nation
"Trine," Transition Magazine #129: Truth and Trope
"tiny poetics," "by degrees: first, second, third," "i loathe your neighborhood" San Diego Reader
"i loathe your neighborhood," "an answer to last night's question" & "'tis only fitting" Rat's Ass Review Love & Ensuing Madness
"The Whole Neighborhood Knew I Had a Baby That Day" & "reliquary" In-Flight Literary Magazine #5
"clockworks: rusted, spoiled" Extract(s)
"mixed metaphors: you & i," "ssri" In-Flight Literary Magazine #4
"ssri" Ultraviolet Tribe
"process aestivation" Tattooed Poets blog
"thirst" "Me Myself I" Pretty Owl Poetry
"Fiction is My Refuge" UnboundWorlds.com & Facebook.com/Hedgebrook for #NationalPoetryMonth
"Brain in a Jar & Other Stories" New Short Fiction Series
"Black Sun" Drunk Monkeys
"A Snail Without its Shell is a Slug" Art & Letters
“Best Served Cold,” Hunger: A Feast of Sensual Tales about Sex & Gastronomy (Sizzler Editions, 2013)
"Eat, Drink, and Be Wary: Autosarcophagy and Autoerotism in Body Horror Cinema" The Body Horror Book (Oscillate Wildly Press)
"Kirsten Imani Kasai’s essay ... draws parallels between female self-mutilation, plastic surgery, and self-cannibalism, then recontextualizes them as assertions of feminist agency.
THE NARRATORS SAN DIEGO Ep. 106: “Karmic Justice” podcast
The Naked Truth about Middle-Aged Womanhood in America
"Hereditary: Confronting the Good Mother"
"To Be Young, Biracial And Absolutely Not A Tragic Mulatta" AOL Black Voices
"Writing a Better Ending: How Feminist Utopian Literature Subverts Patriarchy," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.
"The Walking Dead: HIV/AIDS and the Changing Face of Zombies in Literature"
"Redefining Utopia: How Feminist Utopian Literature Can Serve as a Model for Creating Workable Futures" (2014 winner Antioch University Los Angeles Library Research Award)
"Bringing the Arts into the Creative Writing Classroom: A Tangible Approach to Teaching Narrative Structure"
"Drowning by the Wolf Moon's Light" Suvudu.com
"Edgar Allen Poe Complete Tales and Poems" Annotation Nation
"The Confessions of an English Opium Eater" Annotation Nation
"Trine," Transition Magazine #129: Truth and Trope
"tiny poetics," "by degrees: first, second, third," "i loathe your neighborhood" San Diego Reader
"i loathe your neighborhood," "an answer to last night's question" & "'tis only fitting" Rat's Ass Review Love & Ensuing Madness
"The Whole Neighborhood Knew I Had a Baby That Day" & "reliquary" In-Flight Literary Magazine #5
"clockworks: rusted, spoiled" Extract(s)
"mixed metaphors: you & i," "ssri" In-Flight Literary Magazine #4
"ssri" Ultraviolet Tribe
"process aestivation" Tattooed Poets blog
"thirst" "Me Myself I" Pretty Owl Poetry
"Fiction is My Refuge" UnboundWorlds.com & Facebook.com/Hedgebrook for #NationalPoetryMonth