Elizabeth Willis Books

The collection merges pastoral themes with contemporary post-industrial politics, offering poems that balance the beauty of nature with sharp cultural critique. Through associative leaps, it creates a dynamic linguistic landscape that reflects both garden and wilderness. Structured in four cantos with interspersed lyrics, it echoes Erasmus Darwin's scientific pastorals. By focusing on poetry's exploratory nature, the work shifts the emphasis from static products to the creative process, challenging conventional norms in favor of improvisation.

Featuring a collection of innovative and thought-provoking poems, this work showcases a distinctive American voice that pushes boundaries and explores complex themes. The poet's originality shines through in their unique style and perspective, inviting readers to engage with fresh ideas and emotions. With each piece, the work challenges conventional notions of poetry, making it a compelling read for those seeking contemporary literary expression.

Finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry American poet Elizabeth Willis has written an electrifying body of work spanning more than twenty years. With a wild and inquisitive lyricism, Willis—“one of the most outstanding poets of her generation” (Susan Howe)—draws us into intricate patterns of thought and feeling. The intimate and civic address of these poems is laced with subterranean affinities among painters, botanists, politicians, witches and agitators. Coursing through this work is the clarity and resistance of a world that asks the poem to rise to this, to speak its fury.