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Bramble
Not yet published
Expected 22 Apr 2696 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 22, 2026
3 people want to read
About the author
Susan Stewart
93 books69 followersSusan Stewart (born 1952) is an American poet, university professor and literary critic.
Professor Stewart holds degrees from Dickinson College (B.A. in English and Anthropology), the Johns Hopkins University (M.F.A. in Poetics) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D. in Folklore). She teaches the history of poetry, aesthetics, and the philosophy of literature, most recently at Princeton University.
Her poems have appeared in many journals including: The American Poetry Review, The Paris Review, Poetry, Tri-Quarterly, Gettysburg Review, Harper's, Georgia Review, Ploughshares, and Beloit Poetry Journal.
In the late 2000s she collaborated with composer James Primosch on a song cycle commissioned by the Chicago Symphony that premiered in the fall of 2009. She has served on the judging panel of the Wallace Stevens Award on six occasions.
In 2005 Professor Stewart was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
About her work, the poet and critic Allen Grossman has written, "Stewart has built a poetic syntax capable of conveying an utterly singular account of consciousness, by the light of which it is possible to see the structure of the human world with a new clarity and an unforeseen precision, possible only in her presence and by means of her art."
(from Wikipedia)
Professor Stewart holds degrees from Dickinson College (B.A. in English and Anthropology), the Johns Hopkins University (M.F.A. in Poetics) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D. in Folklore). She teaches the history of poetry, aesthetics, and the philosophy of literature, most recently at Princeton University.
Her poems have appeared in many journals including: The American Poetry Review, The Paris Review, Poetry, Tri-Quarterly, Gettysburg Review, Harper's, Georgia Review, Ploughshares, and Beloit Poetry Journal.
In the late 2000s she collaborated with composer James Primosch on a song cycle commissioned by the Chicago Symphony that premiered in the fall of 2009. She has served on the judging panel of the Wallace Stevens Award on six occasions.
In 2005 Professor Stewart was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
About her work, the poet and critic Allen Grossman has written, "Stewart has built a poetic syntax capable of conveying an utterly singular account of consciousness, by the light of which it is possible to see the structure of the human world with a new clarity and an unforeseen precision, possible only in her presence and by means of her art."
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 5, 2025
“Bramble” by Susan Stewart is a collection of poetry that walks readers through life events viewed as an allegorical briar thicket. Who in their life has not felt like they are fighting their way through briars at least once, pierced and scratched by thorns made up of events we can’t control? “Ps. 102” is a beautiful vignette of a moment, simply written, lovely in its simplicity. “Waterfall near Corchiano” describes a painting in exquisite detail, while “The Horseshoe Crab” is both melodious and melancholy. “Minor Musics” reads like an enchantment: “A bobbin, a needle, a thimble, and chalk. / If it’s too far to run, it’s too close to walk. / A needle, a thimble, chalk, and a bobbin. / The cheer of a robin, now what was that?” What kind of spell will this chant cast?
In “Lucretius,” Stewart reminds us that there is hope despite our tribulations: “…One thing will clarify another, / and dark night will not rob you of / your way…” I copied so much of this book into my commonplace book, I can’t really do it justice in my review. I found this book truly beautiful and thought-provoking. This is one I will turn to again and again.
In “Lucretius,” Stewart reminds us that there is hope despite our tribulations: “…One thing will clarify another, / and dark night will not rob you of / your way…” I copied so much of this book into my commonplace book, I can’t really do it justice in my review. I found this book truly beautiful and thought-provoking. This is one I will turn to again and again.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was an interesting collection! The longer poems were by far my favourites, with special mention to The Horseshoe Crab and The Suggestion Box.
I didn’t find it entirely consistent in its themes (the first part, mainly) and it could be quite jarring to be thrown from one subject to the next without much thought given to connecting one another.
However, regarding flow and structure, it’s clear that Stewart had a vision for this collection, and I find intriguing how certain formatting changes in between poems. Besides, there’s some very beautiful construction of images and scenarios with delicate and tender language, giving this writing an otherworldly feeling to it.
It’s a collection that evokes many a sensation, and it’s definitely worth checking out.
I didn’t find it entirely consistent in its themes (the first part, mainly) and it could be quite jarring to be thrown from one subject to the next without much thought given to connecting one another.
However, regarding flow and structure, it’s clear that Stewart had a vision for this collection, and I find intriguing how certain formatting changes in between poems. Besides, there’s some very beautiful construction of images and scenarios with delicate and tender language, giving this writing an otherworldly feeling to it.
It’s a collection that evokes many a sensation, and it’s definitely worth checking out.
February 21, 2026
Poetry is meant to be atmospheric and evocative and Susan Stewart certainly captures that in Bramble. Fans of natural and musical imagery would likely find something to appreciate here.
Stewart’s strength is in the musicality and rawness of her writing, as in The Dredging Machine and Suggestion Box. There’s a stream-of-consciousness element that was somewhat jarring for me and, maybe because of the format (ebook), difficult to follow. The themes seemed to jump around a lot, sometimes mid-sentence, and I struggled to find sync. Even so, I was able to enjoy this for the imagery and tone, even if I’m not sure I ever got the message she was putting across.
Thank you to University of Chicago Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Stewart’s strength is in the musicality and rawness of her writing, as in The Dredging Machine and Suggestion Box. There’s a stream-of-consciousness element that was somewhat jarring for me and, maybe because of the format (ebook), difficult to follow. The themes seemed to jump around a lot, sometimes mid-sentence, and I struggled to find sync. Even so, I was able to enjoy this for the imagery and tone, even if I’m not sure I ever got the message she was putting across.
Thank you to University of Chicago Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a very pretty collection! Stewart's use of imagery was incredibly visceral, which really helped evoke the themes and feelings from each poem. I also really liked the recurring motif of music; out of all the poems, "Pleyel" was by far my favourite. The sounds and visuals were beautiful, and delved into the simplicity of quiet moments.
Some of the poems weren't particularly consistent with each other, mainly regarding theme, but Stewart did a great job structuring the flow of the poems in a way that created an overall consistent atmosphere, which helped link things together nicely.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Some of the poems weren't particularly consistent with each other, mainly regarding theme, but Stewart did a great job structuring the flow of the poems in a way that created an overall consistent atmosphere, which helped link things together nicely.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley and Susan Stewart for sending me this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was an interesting, yet confusing book of poetry.
It felt like a totally random stream of consciousness, that jumped from one thing to another sometimes even mid poem.
I think this book was a little more on the darker side of things, and a bit raw and angry at times too. It's a bit hard to review, because it felt like being in the middle of a word tornado with things flying around the page and not quite making sense all of the time.
This was an interesting, yet confusing book of poetry.
It felt like a totally random stream of consciousness, that jumped from one thing to another sometimes even mid poem.
I think this book was a little more on the darker side of things, and a bit raw and angry at times too. It's a bit hard to review, because it felt like being in the middle of a word tornado with things flying around the page and not quite making sense all of the time.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews