Pretend the World
"The spirited poems inKathryn Kysar'sPretend the Worldradiate a lyric vitality as they explore the world of nature, motherhood, sexuality, and celebrate the lost bounty of the past."—Dorianne Laux, author ofThe Book of Men"In poems that 'tick from her tongue,'Kathyrn Kysarskillfully weaves the personal with the political. I'm thinking of pieces like 'Cutting Bread' and 'Playing with Planes,' but also 'the weight of war in a mother's heart.' This is a sure lyric voice rooted in the Midwest, but also the world at large. In language both precise and vivid ('Exactness is [her] prayer'), we experience 'soft, tendril-like bones' and watch as '[c]rimson curls a leaf's edge.'Pretend the Worldbrings to mind, but with a twist, the Whitmanic ethos: who touches this book, touches a woman."—Francisco Aragón, author ofGlow of Our Sweat"InKathryn Kysar's poems, culture and history become an umbilical cord burrowed deep into Midwestern soil, spiraling and reemerging, literally, in China. These are poems that merge landscape and interiority to re-inspire life. What results is a voice strong and delicate as a nexus of white tree branches mid-winter, emanating poem after gorgeous poem that in total whisper like wind over land and water the constant reminder: 'we are all learning to leave.' Profound, wise, playful,Kysaris a rare and amazing poet. A beautiful, awesome book of graces to be wildly celebrated."—Ed Bok Lee, author ofReal Karaoke PeopleandWhorled"Balancing the  delicate acts of loving and grieving,Kathryn Kysarmicroscopes the world of modern woman/motherhood. Kysar's ability to politicize parenting and gender offer a gripping but blunt way of seeing the lives we create, the wars we wage, the things we consume, and the connections we make without overbearing sentimentality or righteousness.Pretend the Worldis  a searing testament to being a mother in a world filled with monsters."—Poetry Foundation