Post-: Poems

by Wayne Miller

“In incisive, jolting poems of the here-and-now, he takes measure of debt as a legacy, and the repercussions of constant mass shootings . . . Miller’s poems are beacons.” —BooklistWinner of the UNT Rilke Prize and the Colorado Book Award for Poetry The poems of this fourth collection from Wayne Miller exist in the wake of catastrophe. It is a world populated by rogue gunmen on shooting sprees, a world where the only inheritance a father has to pass on is his debt. In this world, every box could be a bomb and what comes after is what is lived. And yet, this painful past is not set in stone. The past becomes the present, yielding toward an immediate future. The collection coalesces around a series of “post-elegies” triggered by three the birth of his child, the death of his father, and his experience of the seeming explosion of sociohistorical and political conflict and violence over the past decade. Throughout this series, Miller processes grief, but also cuts through pain to open up a way forward in the aftermath of shared loss. Post- thrums with pathos and humor, pain and the beauty of living. “Part stark elegy where the ghosts we carry are relentlessly tied to us, part unrelenting look into today’s world of social media, loneliness, and violence, and part fierce celebration of survival, Post- is a gorgeous and complex book of poems that both startles and soothes.” —Ada Limón

Genres: Poetry

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2016

Reviews

[Mike Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my full review at 32poems.com:

"Recent poets Miller brings to mind include Robert Hass and Louise Glück, and perhaps Czesław Miłosz, whose epigraph Miller selects to open the book. Miller has Hass’s self-awareness, Glück’s somber tone, and the tension of public and private life that characterizes some of Miłosz’s work. Post- stands out among many recent collections, successfully retaining thematic resonance while offering a wide range of form and content. Post- offers a unique elegy that weaves a quiet yet pronounced musical tapestry across a variety of subjects and cuts deeply into absence."

http://www.32poems.com/blog/10142/pro...

[Madeline Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemplative and reflective.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning collection

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special

[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am learning how to read entire collections of poetry, paying particular attention to how the poet shapes his/her book (orders the poems, creates sections, etc.). Reading a book in one sitting helps make this more coherent.

I admire the way the Miller has done this in his book--how he has created a whole that holds up. The running metaphors and recurrent themes pop up clearly. Well done.

My favorite poems:
all the Post-Elegies
The Mind Sliding
A Bit about the Soul
Prayers (w/Answers)
Report from the Provinces
On Language
A Breath in the Record
Landings
On Breathing

[D.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is poetry at its most powerful: instrument of change, defense against the commonplace of mall shooters and hoax bombs, deeply entered wisdom of the body in both birth and dying, and a bastion against loss and forgetting. Wayne Miller’s Post- doesn’t take this century lying down, it is a ringing rejoinder to those who say poetry does not matter.

[Jose Araguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

See an excerpt from this book on my poetry blog, The Friday Influence:

https://thefridayinfluence.wordpress....

Also included in the post is a link to a microreview & interview I did with the poet.

[Katie Avagliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

In place of a review, a quote: "it was a desire to jump narratives - to find himself suddenly encircled by different lights in the distant hills."

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the January 2017 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...