Playthings

by Ilan Mochari

36 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2026

About the author

Ilan Mochari is the author of the poetry collection PLAYTHINGS and the novel ZINSKY THE OBSCURE. His short stories and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Cincinnati Review, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Salamander, Hobart, Juked, J Journal, North Dakota Quarterly, The Louisville Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, and elsewhere. His work has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes, as well as the Derringer Award for crime fiction, and he has been the recipient of a Literature Artist Fellowship grant from the Somerville Arts Council.

PLAYTHINGS is now available on Bookshop.org and Amazon!

https://bookshop.org/p/books/playthin...

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ABOUT PLAYTHINGS
"Ilan Mochari’s voice in PLAYTHINGS is exquisite in its range, its responsiveness, its singing. These are poems to be savored and read many times. Whether he is writing about trees native to Mexico, spiders native to his bathroom, or memories native to boyhood, his engagement with the world delivers poems that praise and lament, remember and contemplate. Several are small masterpieces: 'Playthings,' 'Fiancé, Fiancée,' and 'Weekday, City' are jewels. What a treasure. What a pleasure."

— Richard Hoffman
author, PEOPLE ONCE REAL

"With lush imagery driven by precision subtext, Ilan Mochari’s PLAYTHINGS astounds. It is a bounty of music, forms, and lyric and narrative beauty."

—Quintin Collins
Author, CLAIM TICKETS FOR STOLEN PEOPLE

In PLAYTHINGS, Ilan Mochari offers the natural world not as a retreat or possession, but as a charged field of presence—intricate, resilient, and often overlooked. These lyric poems, crystalline in form and musical in their restraint, explore the uneasy tension between reverence for nature and the quiet violence we inflict upon it. With a keen eye for minute detail and a deep attunement to rhythm, syntax, and vibration, the speaker seeks alignment—of thought, feeling, and act—in a world that resists such coherence. Whether telescoping into a pine needle—'we hadn’t noticed the beige blades beneath our feet / as if we expected needles to be spry in response'—or listening for the unspoken in wind or station, these poems invite the reader to attend: to the seen and the unseen, to transgression and forgiveness, where 'bones bloom like blessings from holier lands.'"

—Dzvinia Orlowsky
Author, BAD HARVEST and THOSE ABSENCES NOW CLOSEST

"There’s a frisky lyric language to the poems in PLAYTHINGS, a playfulness that belies the dark urgency of their underlying themes. Ilan Mochari skillfully jump-cuts from vivid particulars of the urban quotidian, say, an epic rendering of a spilled Starbucks latte, or a sketch of a coatless teenager waiting for the bus, then swerving into strange realms of animalia: a litany of spiders, the bestiary of pollinators inhabiting a Mexican gum tree, a museum exhibit of haunting deer skulls by Georgia O’Keeffe. In precise, irreverent braidings of texture, musicality and pathos, Mochari’s words remind us of how important the practice of play can be to grasp the wondrous, disorienting, and sometimes terrifying nature of the worlds we find ourselves inhabiting."

—Robbie Gamble
Author, A CAN OF PINTO BEANS

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ABOUT ZINSKY THE OBSCURE

“A powerful debut with Dickensian touches in its heartbreaking and occasionally humorous chronicle of the life of a modern young man.” – Kirkus Reviews

“This wry debut novel takes on the classic coming-of-age saga, and it makes the reader rethink common assumptions about how young people get from here to there.” – Booklist

“This eloquent novel from Mochari...is both bleak and affecting.” – Publishers Weekly

“Brutally funny....forged from the same literary hearth that has given us such delightful and fussy oddballs as Ignatius J. Reilly, Don Quixote, and Kilgore Trout....this book has the scope of

Reviews

[Lauren | TransportedLFL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and TLC Book Tours for the free book. These opinions are my own.

Playthings is a short poetry chapbook by Ilan Mochari. It features 20 poems. The author has been published in a variety of outlets, but this is his debut poetry collection. It was recognized by Publishers Weekly Book Life Editor.

Several of the poems draw from Mexican terms and mythology. But more, the through line for these poems tends to be a very modern feel. One of my favorites was about windows at Starbucks. Another about an industrial park had a beautiful line about a "pandemic of cars."

Like all good poetry, this collection made me think, both at a line level and about the overarching themes.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Review ✨ Playthings by Ilan Mochari

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the gifted copy of this book!

Looking for a way to get into poetry? This is a great place to start because the book is short and sweet. Pick a poem a day to read and think about!

Mochari's short book of poems is playful and thoughtful moving through topics in the world around us. It asks us to look deeply around us in the natural and built landscapes that surround us. Despite its short length, this book had lots of variety and I was left wanting even more! From windows at Starbucks to deer skulls to bugs, this book deems nothing unworthy of notice.

Genre: poetry
Pub Date: Feb 2026

Read this if you like:
⭕️ short books of poems
⭕️ looking deeply
⭕️ playful language

[Nursebookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playthings by Ilan Mochari is a beautiful collection of poems that made me slow down and really take in each page.

The poems are honest and thoughtful, finding meaning in everyday moments while exploring love, loss, memories, and nature.

I found myself going back to reread certain lines because they stayed with me. It's amazing how much feeling can fit into just a few words.

If you enjoy poetry that makes you pause and reflect, I definitely recommend picking up Playthings.

[Sara Planz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ilan Mochari explores the natural world and the thoughtless harm-and joy-with which we inhabit it. Candid, vivid, and musical, the poems in Playthings are rousing meditations on subjects ranging from moons to miscarriages, gum trees to Georgia O'Keeffe skulls. Clarity and compassion shine through, as does a world-weary pathos that elevates the riveting material at hand. Thank you to Ilan Mochari and Finishing Line Press for a copy of this.

Thoughtfulness and beauty are the two words that come to mind while reading this book of poetry. From verse about trees and spiders, to one about a baseball field, Mochari finds the extraordinary in things that can often be overlooked - those quiet reflections that we can have when we just pause and take a look around us. A reminder that we need to care for our world and hold our memories dear, this debut poetry collection is one that is meant to be savored and reread.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not read poetry often and when I read novels I read FAST. This little book of poems forces the reader to slow down and simply enjoy words. To think a bit, as the meaning is not always glaringly obvious. After all, what are readers if not lovers of words?

Thank you to @tlcbooktours for this gifted book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been leaning a bit toward more poetry lately, so I was thrilled to have @tlcbooktours #gift me 𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝑰𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊, which is available now.

I have been taking in a poem or two (or three) when I get home while sitting in my garden and watching it really come alive this month. These poems are often short but very clear and moving as they thread their way through the natural world in both harsh and joyful ways. It has been a lovely venture to slow down and soak in the words offered as well as my physical environment.

Many of the poems touched on subjects that feel beyond hope, delve into grief, and some that evoked a sense of survival (loved the spiders!).

I am new to the poetry world, but reading these slowly, aloud, was a lovely experience and one I definitely recommend. As a small book, this is a great way to begin your poetry curiosity!
4.5 stars

[Becky of Becky's Bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playthings by Ilan Mochari is a thoughtful, interesting, and lyrical book of poetry. Each poem draws you in, takes you someplace, and challenges you to see the world with new eyes.

My favorite poem was "5:45 Bus" which paints a picture of riding a bus that was familiar yet expanded my thinking. The author weaves words together in a fascinating way that opens you up to seeing the world differently. I recommend!

I was gifted a copy and not required to write a positive review.

[SmallPressPicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was struck by the inventiveness, lyrical beauty, and range of these poems. With compassion and an eye for telling details, Mochari writes about everything from an elegy-worthy variety of evergreen trees, to the survival-instinct creativity of spiders, to the sense of loss after a miscarriage. These are poems to return to, and each new reading of them brings fresh rewards and insights.

[Joseph Gremillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like poetry. I don't read it on a regular basis but I like the sound, the imagery of it. Mochari's Playthings is a collection of workaday poems reflecting the perspectives of animals, plants and trees and people. SUPERB!