Hair in Several Parts

In Hair in Several Parts, Joan Lilly writes about losing her hair during cancer treatment and the unexpected questions that arise as it disappears and a changed version appears. Moving between personal essay and haiku, she considers hair as a marker of identity, age, health, gender, and how we see ourselves and one another.With humor and close observation, Lilly follows the experience from baldness through the arrival of a new head of hair, reflecting along the way on wigs, head coverings, vanity, illness, aging, and the sometimes uneasy relationship between the body and the self.Hair in Several Parts was originally publised as a handmade chapbook with a block printed cover featuring artwork by Inés Chapela.