Where Now: New and Selected Poems

by Laura Kasischke

“Kasischke astonishes with her lyricism and metaphorical power.” — Publishers Weekly “Every poem is exquisitely crafted, with crisp, clean lines and imagery that dazzles.”— The Washington Post “For Kasischke… poetry is a kind of revenge on the existential limits that it describes”— Los Angeles Review of Books Laura Kasischke’s long-awaited selected poems presents the breadth of her probing vision that subverts the so-called “normal.” A lover of fairy tales, Kasischke showcases her command of the symbolic, with a keen attention to sound in her exploration of the everyday—whether reflections on loss or the complicated realities of childhood and family. As literary critic Stephen Burt wrote in Boston Review , “The future will not see us by one poet alone….If there is any justice in that future, Kasischke is one of the poets it will choose.” This incandescent volume makes the case that Laura Kasischke is one of America’s great poets, and her presence is secure. From "Dear Water": I am your lost daughter and, as always, you
are listening & fish. Though
I sift you for sunlight, it
runs from me in glistening pins, vanishes
in the wavering map
of your ungraspable heart. When I
reach in, you
swallow my cold hands again, swallow
the joy they'd hold. . .
Laura Kasischke is a poet and novelist whose fiction has been made into several feature-length films. Her book of poems, Space, in Chains , won the National Book Critics Circle Award. She currently teaches at the University of Michigan and lives in Chelsea, Michigan.

Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2017

About the author

Laura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and American poet with poetry awards and multiple well reviewed works of fiction. Her work has received the Juniper Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Pushcart Prize, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Award for Emerging Writers, and the Beatrice Hawley Award. She is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as several Pushcart Prizes.

Her novel The Life Before Her Eyes is the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Vadim Perelman, and starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Kasischke's work is particularly well-received in France, where she is widely read in translation. Her novel A moi pour toujours (Be Mine) was published by Christian Bourgois, and was a national best seller.

Kasischke attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. She is also currently a Professor of English Language and of the Residential College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lives in Chelsea, Michigan, with her husband and son.

Reviews

[John Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura Kasischke's semi massive new volume "Where Now: New and Selected Poems" show her range a great deal more than her previous collections. Her elliptical style always pleases, and she has a lucidity which is surprising at times.

Guide To Imaginary Places: X-Ray

Through the blue
forest, in the twilight behind
the white vibration of your bones, a woman
named Marie

carries a glass of water, whhich glows.

She bears it carefully. She knows

you're broken. The party-
goers are frozen, the music's over. It was

eerie, always, the music, wasn't it? And the flowers
so brief and pale. The beautiful

boys and girls, intangible as a song. Who

knew, all along, it could be seen into, or through?
That there were swans
and sails floating
in the lunar dusk inside you?

That the air you bread
and the water you drank
turned into rain,
and mood?

She knew.

Both this collection and Kasischke's chilling novel "Mind of Winter" are absolutes. One must read them. Recommended.

[Scott Pomfret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and surprising. Not often a book of poetry sneaks up on you unawares. Felt on edge throughout the reading waiting for ambush. A million wonderful lines. The middle collections felt stronger than today's poems or the first, but all had a tangible quality, like a pair of woolen winter pants in a rough weave and aggressive pattern. Well done.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new to me poet made quite an impression. This will end up being one of my favorite collections.

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seldom do I read a book of poetry straight through, but Ms. Kasischke's poetry reached out from the page and mesmerized me. I could not stop to browse as is my usual habit. I did not want to miss a single line.

I was initially captivated by the poem, "Masks" which I read in a Copper Canyon Fall 2017 Reader (catalogue). The poem opened like a red rose, then, BAM! that last line: full bloom, pure genius. Discovering a new poet you love is akin to finding a soul mate, someone who thinks like you and understands you. I highly recommend this book. I've bookmarked dozens of pages. Support poets; buy more poetry!!!! 😍

[Anabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

Some of the poems were unmemorable but a couple were absolutely mindblowing. Overall, I'd say these are very odd poems that managed to thread daily life and existential musing.

The rhythm of the poems is really unique.

"The wind has toppled the telescope
over onto the lawn:
So much for stars.
Your brief shot at the universe, gone."
(p. 72)

[Kat Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 4.5 stars because there are quite a few shockingly great poems. But the pitfall of a book this length (352 pages) is that there are also quite a few forgettable poems. I would have preferred a slimmer volume

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

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