Astronauts

by Amy Miller

This astounding, harrowing collection explores love and strife between sisters, as well as the lure and losses of addiction.

41 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Eric Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice work. My favorites were "We Interrupt This Program," "Keys," and "Astronauts." My favorite lines: "We can't love our alien selves forever./ That file is sealed, even to us."

This book has one of the best poetry book covers I've ever seen, so I'm disappointed to see there is no thumbnail here. Maybe I'll look around, and see if I can find one.


UPDATE: Found one!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love chapbooks so compelling that I finish them in one sitting. The theme of Astronauts is the story of the teen drinking and drug culture that hit middle class America in the late 60s and 70s. Poems vary in their forms: prose poems, couplets, a list of questions, a poem that conveys essential information in the form of a newscast, even a newly invented form called a cadralor. The narrative arc proceeds like an experimental novel—time leaps and bounces, characters are introduced too late to know them, the reader is directly addressed. Though it’s a book about family tragedy, the tone is more literary than emotional. “The story is better than the blood.”

[Mel Finefrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no love story quite like that between sisters. I frequently draw poetic inspiration from my relationship with my sister, so when I learned Amy had written an entire book about hers, I just knew I had to read it, especially because I'd had a glimpse at two of the gorgeous poems previously. The love and pain amid these pages are equally palpable, and no matter the shape your sister story takes, these poems are a thing to behold. Amy has such a masterful way of reaching into readers' hearts, of taking us along, of weaving together metaphors and everyday moments alike in order to tell a story. As a poet, I can imagine how writing these verses might have felt at once comforting and like bleeding. Amy, thank you for entrusting this story to us.

[Zach Linge]

The book has so much of what I enjoy in poetry: an incredibly strong and credible voice; consistently surprising and evocative language; situations set in image; surmises that read like that natural but surprising conclusion to each poem; and FEELING throughout.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up because it was an Oregon Book Award nominee, and just look at that cover! It's a VERY quick read as it's less than 40 pages, but packed with emotion and reflection. I enjoyed, and I recommend to poetry lovers!