From “Portrait of the artist, gaslit” to “Portrait of the artist’s ancestors” to “Portrait of the artist reading a newspaper,” the poems in Shelley Puhak’s singular collection Harbinger reflect the many facets of the artistic self as well as the myriad influences and experiences that contribute to that identity. Seen through the lens of motherhood, of working as a waitress, of watching election results come in, or of simply of sitting in a waiting room, making art—and making an artist—is a process where historical events collide with lived experience, both deeply personal but also unfailingly political. With its unique vantage point and surprising insights, Harbinger shows us the reality of the constantly evolving and unstable self, a portrait of the artist as fragmentary, impressionable, and always in flux.