Mornings Like This: Found Poems

"Found poems are to their poet what no-fault insurance is to beneficiaries: payoffs waiting to happen where everyone wins and no one is blamed. Dillard culls about 40 such happy accidents from sources as diverse as a The American Boys Handy Book (1882) and the letters of Van Gogh. . . . the poet aims for a lucky, loaded symbolism that catapults the reader into an epiphany never imagined by the original authors."  — Publishers Weekly

In Mornings Like This, beloved author Annie Dillard has given us a witty and moving collection of poems in a wholly original form, sure to charm her fans, both old and new.

Extracting and rearranging sentences from old and odd books—From D.C. Beard's "The American Boys Handy Book" in 1882 to Van Gogh's letters to David Greyson's "The Countryman's Year" in 1936—Dillard has composed poems on poetry’s most heartfelt themes of love, nature, nostalgia, and death. A unique, clever, and original collection, Dillard’s characteristic voice sounds throughout the pages. 

A masterwork of curation, Mornings Like This reveals the extraordinary hidden in the ordinary:

• An Original Literary Form: Witness a master at work as Annie Dillard extracts and rearranges sentences from forgotten books to create something entirely new and breathtaking.
• Witty and Profound: From the comical instructions in "The American Boys Handy Book" to the heartbreaking letters of Van Gogh, each poem finds the perfect balance between humor and depth.
• Unexpected Sources: Journey through a curated archive of odd and wonderful texts, including maritime charts, emergency care manuals, and natural histories, each transformed by Dillard's unique vision.
• Timeless Themes: Explore poetry’s most heartfelt subjects—love, nature, mortality, and memory—woven together from the words of others into a singular, cohesive collection.