The Way Through

The poems in the book have been written one by one over many years and in very different times of life. About four years ago I began to dream about collecting them into a book that would be a cohesive experience for you, the reader. After a prologue poem celebrating a tenth year of marriage, Part One of the book jumps back in time to celebrate one marvelous, difficult summer I lived in New York City and tried to make it my home. Part Two celebrates the life I found beyond New York, in marriage and children and the Midwest. And Part Three contemplates the mysteries of suffering and joyful surprise that come even when we think life is settled and complete.

The title, The Way Through, makes me smile. For one thing, the words are a quotation, not an original phrase, as you’ll see if you read the book—which to me means no poem or book or life is achieved on one’s own. For another thing, the title reminds me of a powerful lie: that there is one way, and if you step off it, or can’t find it, you are doomed. The beauty and the puzzle of poetry helped rescue me from that delusion, as did the many voices and places that fill the pages of the book. I am so grateful to Mayapple Press and my editor Judith Kerman, for “getting” this project, and for putting it into your hands this summer.