Things as It Is

by Chase Twichell

"Poems of balanced wildness and instinctual grace."— New York Journal of Books “[Twichell’s poems] open out into a stark, sometimes bewildered clarity.” — The Washington Post “Suppose you had Sappho’s passion, the intelligence and perspicacity of Curie, and Dickinson’s sweet wit . . . then you would have the poems of Chase Twichell.” —Hayden Carruth “A major voice in contemporary poetry.” — Publishers Weekly Chase Twichell’s eighth collection lifts up the joy of the moment while mourning a changing world. In Things as It Is —purposefully not things as they are—the present and past parallel and intermingle. Meditating on a litany of formative moments, Twichell’s clear-as-a-bell voice delivers visceral and emotionally resonant lyrics, elegies, and confessions. From “What the Trees Said”: The trees have begun to undress.
Soon snow will come to bandage
the whole wounded world.
When I was young I eloped with
the sky. I wore blue-black, with
under-lit ribbons of pink . . . Chase Twichell , a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Twichell has published seven previous poetry collections, including Horses Where Answers Should Have Been , which received the 2011 Kingsley Tufts Award. For ten years, she owned and operated Ausable Press.

Genres: Poetry

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2019

Reviews

[Fer Aportela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roadkill

I want to see things as they are
without me. Why, I don’t know.

As a kid I always looked
at roadkill close up, and poked
a stick into it. I want to look at death

with eyes like my own baby eyes,
not yet blinded by knowledge.

I told this to my friend the monk,
and he said, Want, want, want.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely ride through nature, family history, childhood. Thoroughly enjoyable throughout showcasing a keen sense of observation and perplexing, imaginative mind. This is the feeling poetry should strive to evoke. Now to explore earlier works.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chase Twichell is one of my new favorite poets!

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering reminder to live the life we have instead of the life we want. Gave words to the feelings of existential dread people my age feel about a changing world around us.

[Gillian Kimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had the privilege to watch Chase read her book and then get a signed copy! We talked about memes lol she was cool

[Lynnea Conlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

resonant

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Dress


On a hanger the pattern tissues
for the new dress stir as I pass:

the still-perfect ghost dress

not yet cut, not worn or worn out,
not given away or sent to Goodwill.

I lay out the indigo silk on the cutting grid.

Mom gave me her whole stash
the year she donated her machine
to the Visiting Nurses.

This is the first piece of it I’ve cut.

The near-weightless spirits lie down
upon it and I pin them there.

The scissors come seeking them out.