As part of my Poetic Book Tour, Iliana at Bookgirl's Nightstand invited me to write a guest post for her blog about what poetry means to me. Here's an excerpt:

"Poems enable us to hold onto joy as well as sorrow (and all the feelings in between), to remember and re-imagine our day-to-day lives. Poems help us take a step back from life so we can see it more clearly. They give us respite, shelter, even if just for a little while. They refresh us, before we dive back into the hurried blur of our everyday lives."

You can read the full post here. Bookgirl's Nightstand is also giving away one copy of Dear Almost, so be sure to leave a comment there if you want a chance to win.

Thank you to Jorie Loves A Story for this new review of Dear Almost. Here's an excerpt:

"This is a story of what is 'almost' possible and... a way of having closure when the one person you'd like to leave behind footprints to follow after you is not able to take the journey... but can be with you in spirit."

Big thanks to the Necromancy Never Pays book blog for engaging with my new book. Here's an excerpt: "Near the end of the poem comes the question 'grief does / end eventually, doesn’t / it?' In the end, he thinks that the child is 'not enough / to hold onto.' And yet, he shows us, she has an effect on his world." Check out the full review here.

Earlier this year, I sent an email off into the blue, across the water, to a poet whose work I deeply admire. I wasn't sure I'd found a current email address for him, or would receive a response--but what followed was a thoughtful, insightful exchange via email. I'm very grateful to Ciaran Carson for his warm and generous response. He kindly took the time to talk about his work with this admiring reader. You can read our interview on the Ploughshares blog.

And look for a few more interviews with amazing poets coming up as we close out the year, including Margaret Rhee, C. Dale Young and Allison Joseph.

Thanks so much to Stacy's Blog for a thoughtful review of Dear Almost. Stacy writes, "I was completely caught up, all of the emotions of the poet swirling around the ones that it brought out in me.  Read the full review here.

Thank you to poetry editor Rick Barot for accepting two poems for New England Review. "An Annunciation" and "Gray Light on An Unmade Bed" will appear in an upcoming issue. These poems are from a new manuscript I'm working on called Never Going Back Again.

Thanks so much to Eunice Moral for her review of Dear Almost on the Nerdy Talks Book Blog. Eunice calls the book "a howl to the wind" and notes that it "offers a profound understanding of what it is like to hold on to a memory and eventually come to terms with the loss." Read the full review here.