Laura Kasischke

In the town of Mission Hills, Michigan, an elementary school child drowns in the Olympic-sized pool at a summer swim club. By most, but not all, the lifeguard on duty that afternoon--a teenage girl who becomes the central focus of a town looking for an object onto which their fears and grief can be projected--is seen as responsible for the tragedy. In overlapping narratives, the truth about the drowning gradually surfaces, and the strange arbitrary but inexorable nature of fate is exposed.

In the town of Mission Hills, Michigan, an elementary school child drowns in the Olympic-sized pool at a summer swim club. By most, but not all, the lifeguard on duty that afternoon--a teenage girl who becomes the central focus of a town looking for an object onto which their fears and grief can be projected--is seen as responsible for the tragedy. In overlapping narratives, the truth about the drowning gradually surfaces, and the strange arbitrary but inexorable nature of fate is exposed.

The life and work of poet Walt McDonald contains multitudes. A fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran who came to poetry late, Walt went on to publish over 2,000 poems in his career. His voice appealed to all kinds of readers. His poems appeared in journals ranging from First Things to The Nation, from JAMA to The Atlantic Monthly. He published over twenty books of poetry and served as the poet laureate of Texas.Turning on candid observation, quietly resonant sound, and a present narrative sensibility, Walt's poems move from a cockpit over Vietnam to the big West Texas emptiness and the Rocky Mountains. Beginning in 2019, Walt sat with his prolific collection of poetry and began selecting his favorite works, grouping them together in four distinct movements. The results are before you here in this comprehensive collection of a lifetime's effort. The Essential Walt McDonald is a must-have poetic opus, shaped by a giant of the Texas community of letters.

In her stunning twelfth poetry collection, Lightning Falls in Love, Laura Kasischke makes magic with a complex alchemy of nostalgia and fire, birdwing and sorrow. In new poems that search the murky lake for news of the past, she evokes unsayable trauma and gleans possibility. This is poetry that is existential in scope but grounded in the body, surreal yet suburban, reaching for clarity just beyond the fog of the day-to-day. Kasischke has found an entirely new way to spin beauty and pull breath from that which must be dredged up and revived before it can be left behind.

"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 BooksLaura 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, youare listening & fish. ThoughI sift you for sunlight, itruns from me in glistening pins, vanishesin the wavering mapof your ungraspable heart. When Ireach in, youswallow my cold hands again, swallowthe 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.

"Leave-the-lights-on-tonight frightening, with a quiet edge of horror that is much more effective than gore." -- NPRFrom Laura Kasischke, the critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling poet and author of The Raising, comes a dark and chilling thriller that combines domestic drama with elements of psychological suspense and horror--an addictive tale of denial and guilt that is part Joyce Carol Oates and part Chris Bohjalian.On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens with the fragments of a nightmare floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric adopted baby Tatty, their pretty, black-haired Rapunzel, from the Pokrovka Orphanage #2. Now, at fifteen, Tatiana is more beautiful than ever--and disturbingly erratic.As a blizzard rages outside, Holly and Tatiana are alone. With each passing hour, Tatiana's mood darkens, and her behavior becomes increasingly frightening . . . until Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.

Kasischke's poems are powered by a skillful use of imagery and the subtle, ingenious way she turns a phrase.--Austin American-StatesmanThe Infinitesimals stares directly at illness and death, employing the same highly evocative and symbolic style that earned Laura Kasischke the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry. Drawing upon her own experiences with cancer, and the lives and deaths of loved ones, Kasischke's new work commands a lyrical and dark intensity.Laura Kasischke is the author of eight collections of poetry and seven novels. She teaches at the University of Michigan and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Laura Kasischke, the critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling poet and author of The Raising, returns Mind of Winter, a dark and chilling thriller that combines domestic drama with elements of psychological suspense and horror--an addictive tale of denial and guilt that is part Joyce Carol Oates and part Chris Bohjalian.On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens with the fragments of a nightmare floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric adopted baby Tatty, their pretty, black-haired Rapunzel, from the Pokrovka Orphanage #2. Now, at fifteen, Tatiana is more beautiful than ever--and disturbingly erratic.As a blizzard rages outside, Holly and Tatiana are alone. With each passing hour, Tatiana's mood darkens, and her behavior becomes increasingly frightening . . . until Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.

In her first collection of short stories, Laura Kasischke exposes the dark heart of the domestic?it's wrapped in shabby silk, tucked away in a dresser drawer. If A Stranger Approaches You reminds us that intersection of the bizarre and the quotidian is always at play. Memorial statues and raggedy dolls seem to come to life, a man listens to the electric menace of suburban power lines while he struggles with his failed marriage, and the little boy and his dog knocking on the door might be Death in disguise. Surreal and darkly comic, these are stories that know the unexpected graces and random collisions that drive and haunt us. As one of her narrators remarks, "What a thing, this life."

death. In Godwin Honors Hall, the walls are draped in black. The college is in mourning for Nicole Werner, a blonde and beautiful prom queen who died in a car crash last semester. She was a prized member of the Virgin Sisters, the most powerful sorority on campus. obsession. Nicole's boyfriend Craig was at the wheel that night. He has no memory of the crash, but he is plagued by guilt. For as winter sets in and the nights darken, Nicole's death dominates college life - and then the hauntings begin. suspicion. Craig's roommate, Perry, doesn't believe in ghosts. He always thought Nicole was as manipulative as she was charming, and refuses to be swept up in the hysteria. But when he and his fellow sceptics join forces, he too sees Nicole's spirit in the crumbling college halls...

In Godwin Honors Hall, the walls are draped in black. The college is in mourning for Nicole Werner, a blonde and beautiful prom queen who died in a car accident last semester. She was a straight-A student, a committed Christian, and a prized member of the Virgin Sisters, the most powerful sorority on campus. Nicole's boyfriend Craig was at the wheel that night. Although he has no memory of the crash, he is haunted by guilt, and now unable to forget his part in the drama. For, as winter sets in and the nights darken, Nicole's death dominates college life. Candlelit vigils and fetishistic rituals become nightly events. A seminar on the folklore of dying and the undead is hugely oversubscribed. Soon, students start seeing Nicole's spirit in the crumbling college halls. Craig's roommate, Perry, doesn't believe in ghosts. A no-nonsense type who always thought Nicole was as manipulative as she was charming, he refuses to be swept up by the hysteria - and then he experiences an eerie night-time visitation of his own. Perry knows that something very strange is going on. But when he and his fellow sceptics begin to unravel the truth, powerful forces move to silence them...

Kasischke's intelligence is most apparent in her syntactic control and pace, the way she gauges just when to make free verse speed up, or stop short, or slow down.--The New York Times Book ReviewKasischke's poems are powered by a skillful use of imagery and the subtle, ingenious way she turns a phrase.--Austin American-StatesmanLaura Kasischke's poems have the same haunting qualities and truth as our most potent memories and dreams. Through ghostly voices, fragmented narratives, overheard conversations, songs, and prayers in language reminiscent of medieval lyrics converted into contemporary idiom, the poems in Space, In Chains create a visceral strangeness true to its own music.So we found ourselves in an ancient place, the veryair around us bound by chains. There wasstagnant water in which lightningwas reflected, like desperationin a dying eye. Like science. Likea dull rock plummeting through space, tossingoff flowers and veils, like a bride. Andalso the subway.Speed under ground.And the way each body in the room appeared to bea jar of wasps and flies that day--but, enchanted, like frightened children's laughter.Laura Kasischke is the author of thirteen books of poetry and fiction. Her novel Her Life Before Her Eyes was adapted for the screen and starred Uma Thurman. A Guggenheim Fellow in 2009, she teaches in the MFA program at the University of Michigan.

A sudden death. In Godwin Honors Hall, the walls are draped in black. The college is in mourning for Nicole Werner, a blonde and beautiful prom queen who died in a car crash last semester. She was a straight-A student, and a prized member of the Virgin Sisters, the most powerful sorority on campus. A feverish obsession. Nicole's boyfriend Craig was at the wheel that night. He has no memory of the crash, but he is plagued by guilt. For as winter sets in and the nights darken, Nicole's death dominates college life. Candlelit vigils and fetishistic rituals become nightly events -and then the hauntings begin. A flicker of suspicion. Craig's roommate, Perry, doesn't believe in ghosts. A no-nonsense type who always thought Nicole was as manipulative as she was charming, he refuses to be swept up by the hysteria. But when he and his fellow sceptics join forces, he too sees Nicole's spirit in the crumbling college halls. Something very strange is going on...

"Kasischke's writing does what good poetry does--it shows us an alternate world and lulls us into living in it . . . The language catapults us into another plane of existence, one of facade and reflection." --New York Times Book Review "Haunting, unsettling, and unforgettable, The Raising limns love, longing, belonging and the things we only think we know about life--and yes, death." --Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of YouFrom Laura Kasischke, the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of In a Perfect World and The Life Before Her Eyes, comes a hypnotic mystery about one girl's tragic death and the fallout that occurs on her closely-knit college campus. Part Stephen King, part Donna Tartt, and wholly unforgettable, Kasischke's The Raising sets a new standard for hair-raising literary suspense.

In 1903, a preacher named Benjamin Purnell and five followers founded a colony called the House of David in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where they prepared for eternal life by creating a heaven on earth. Housed in rambling mansions and surrounded by lush orchards and vineyards, the colony added a thousand followers to its fold within a few years, along with a zoo, extensive gardens, and an amusement park. The sprawling complex, called Eden Springs, was a major tourist attraction of the Midwest. The colonists, who were drawn from far and wide by the magnetic "King Ben," were told to keep their bodies pure by not cutting their hair, eating meat, or engaging in sexual relations. Yet accounts of life within the colony do not reflect such an austere atmosphere, as the handsome, charming founder is described as loving music, dancing, a good joke, and in particular, the company of his attractive female followers.In Eden Springs, award-winning Michigan author Laura Kasischke imagines life inside the House of David, in chapters framed by real newspaper clippings, legal documents, and accounts of former colonists. Told from the perspective of the young women who were closest to Benjamin Purnell, the novella follows a growing scandal within the colony's walls. A gravedigger has seen something suspicious in a recently buried casket, a loyal assistant to Benjamin is plotting a cover-up, talk is swirling about unmarried girls having babies, and a rebellious girl named Lena is ready to tell the truth. In flashbacks and first-person narrative mixed with historical artifacts, Kasischke leads readers through the unraveling mystery in a lyrical patchwork as enticing and satisfying as the story itself.Eden Springs lets readers inside the enchanting and eerie House of David, with an intimate look at its hedonistic highs and eventual collapse. This novella will appeal to all readers of fiction, as well as those with an interest in Michigan history.

"In a Perfect World reveals astonishing and tender insight into human nature while exposing a terrifying, yet believable, world I'd never before imagined. This story will grasp onto your heart before swiftly carrying you away." --Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim PartiesIn a Perfect World is critically acclaimed writer Laura Kasischke's novel of marriage, motherhood, and the choices we make when we have no choices left. Kasischke, the author of The Life Before Her Eyes, tells the story of Jiselle, a young flight attendant who's just settled into a fairy tale life with her new husband and stepchildren. But as a mysterious new illness spreads rapidly throughout the country, she begins to realize that her marriage, her stepchildren, and their perfect world are all in terrible danger . . .

On Valentine's Day, Sherry finds an anonymous note in her mailbox: be mine. As the notes continue, Sherry becomes more and more charged by the idea that she can inspire such feelings. Her twenty-year marriage is routine and she feels old, aimless, and empty now that her son is in college. When she discovers who her admirer is, she begins a wildly passionate affair with him. But her son's childhood friend is witness to the affair, her best friend is strangely silent, and her husband is playing a disturbing game of titil­lation and encouragement. Soon events spiral out of Sherry's control, threatening not only her marriage but also her son and her home. This deeply erotic thriller explores how little we know ourselves and those we live with and what we risk when we step away from our social personas and allow passion to control our lives.

She has, like all good poets, created a music of her own, one suited to her concerns. When denizens of the 22nd century, if we get there, look back on our era and ask how we lived, they will take an interest both in the strangest personalities who gave their concerns verbal form, and in the most representative. The future will not--should not--see us by one poet alone. But if there is any justice in that future, Kasischke is one of the poets it will choose." --Boston Review"Kasichke's poems are powered by a skillful use of imagery and the subtle, ingenious way she turns a phrase." --Austin American-Statesman Laura Kasischke in her own words: I realized while ordering and selecting the poems for this collection that much of my more recent work concerns body parts, dresses, and beauty queens. These weren't conscious decisions, just the things that found their way into my poems at this particular point in my life, and which seem to have attached to them a kind of prophetic potential. The beauty queens especially seemed to crowd in on me, in all their feminine loveliness and distress, wearing their physical and psychological finery, bearing what body parts had been allotted to them. For some time, I had been thinking about beauty queens like Miss Michigan, but also the Rhubarb Queen, and the Beauty Queens of abstraction--congeniality. And then--Brevity, Consolation for Emotional Damages, Estrogen--all these feminine possibilities to which I thought a voice needed to be given.Laura Kasischke is the author of six books of poetry, including Gardening in the Dark (Ausable Press, 2004) and Dance and Disappear (winner of the 2002 Juniper Prize), and four novels. Her work has received many honors, including the Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Beatrice Hawley Award, the Pushcart Prize, and the Elmer Holmes Bobst Award for Emerging Writers. She teaches at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.