Horses Where the Answers Should Have Been: New and Selected Poems

by Chase Twichell

"[Twichell's] poems generate the requisite heat with the poet's precise, original and frequently brilliant use of language. . . . A major voice in contemporary poetry." --"Publishers Weekly""[Twichell's poems] track the inner movements of one life with an unexpected freshness." --"The Washington Post""Publishers Weekly" called Chase Twichell "a major voice in contemporary poetry," and this long overdue retrospective supports the claim. Selected from six award-winning books, this volume collects the best of Twichell's meditative and startling poems. A longtime student of Zen Buddhism, Twichell probes how the self changes over time and how the perception of self affects the history and meaning of our lives. Her poems exhibit a deep and urgent love of the natural world amidst ecological decimation, while also delving into childhood memories and the surprise and nourishment that come from radical shifts in perception."What etiquette holds us backfrom more intimate speech,especially now, at the end of the world?Can't we begin a conversationhere in the vestibule,then gradually move it inside?What holds us backfrom saying things outright?"Chase Twichell is the author of six books of poetry and the best-selling writer's manual "Practice of Poetry." She is the founding editor of Ausable Press and lives in rural New York with her husband, the novelist Russell Banks.

Genres: Poetry

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Therese L. Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding. These poems were discussed by me and six other people who belong to a local book reading group. Probably the best book discussion I've ever attended anywhere.

[R.L. Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving and rich. Contains none of the stodgy, academic flavor that much of modern poetry comes peppered with. Twichell has an approachable, robust voice that the reader can actually relate to.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are poems here which feel like they have been ripped from my own head; poems that could live in some reincarnation of myself. These poems are bold, startling, slyly twisting life's small details into meaning. There are so many poems here that speak to me: Your Eightieth, Cocktail Music, Hotel du Nord, Evening, Herron's Farm, Dog Biscuits, To the Reader; Twilight, Auld Lang Syne, solo, Like a Caretaker, Nostalgia for the Future, Paint. This is a library copy and I am defintely order a keeper copy for myself.

A few more notable poems: p. 130 Ghost Birches, p. 74 Chanel No. 5, 45 Abandoned House inthe Late Nght, p. 169 The Paper River, p 167 Skeleton, p.160 Stray

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection. I hope I can finded a used copy to add to my poetry shelves.

[Elizabeth]

Great book of sensitive, thoughtful poetry from an old favorite. Good for nighttime reading.

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful, some fell a little short.