Arlene Biala
ISBN: 9781965439104
Cover Art: Frances Mendoza
Book Design: Keana Aguila Labra
Paper | 6 x 9 | 144 Pages
Publication Date: November 23, 2025
Distributors: Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Price: $20
Advance Praise
“a thousand voices whispering is a reckoning with the trauma of the past on the poet’s family… Biala weaves the oral interviews from her elders’ painful memories of hunger and war, depression and suicides, as if in a ritual cleansing and exorcism to release the grip and shame of colonial oppression on her own psyche, as well as those of future descendants. The power of memory to reclaim control over one’s narrative strikes at the goal of Settler Colonialism to silence and erase its victims’ cultural identity and voice. Arlene Biala’s voice in this respect, becomes a thousand voices echoing.”
—Genny Lim, San Francisco Poet Laureate, performer, playwright, educator, activist
“a thousand voices whispering is a living archive of memory, grief, and resilience. It is an intimate chorus of voices carried across oceans and generations. Through poetry that moves like both prayer and testimony, Biala transforms family histories of migration, trauma, and survival into sanctuaries of connection and courage. Immediately personal and collective, this collection insists on remembering, even when remembering hurts, and shows how poetry can document, heal, and sustain. It is a vital contribution to the literature of diaspora and survival, a book that will linger like a song refusing silence.”
—Tshaka Campbell, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Emeritus
“Arlene Biala’s work is the remedy our communities need. Her poems move like prayers, gentle yet powerful medicine for our minds, hearts, and spirits. She reminds us that the pain we carry is not only our own, but part of a lineage, passed down through generations. Yet, within that inheritance, she shows us we also carry the medicine to heal… It is how we make space for abundance, for joy, and for the future generations, who will inherit the world we are creating today.”
—Yosimar Reyes, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate, writer, activist, performing artist
Arlene Biala (she/her) is a Pinay poet and performance artist born in San Francisco, and raised in the South Bay. She has been participating in poetry performances and workshops in the Bay Area for over 30 years and was Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County for 2016 and 2017. She is the author of several poetry collections: Bone, Continental Drift, and Her Beckoning Hands, which won the 2015 American Book Award. Her latest book, One Inch Punch, was published in 2019. She is a 2023-2025 Lucas Arts Fellow at Montalvo. a thousand voices whispering is her fifth poetry collection.