Waterborne: Poems

A stirring, brilliantly crafted collection, Linda Gregerson's third volume of poetry examines mortality in all its beauty and horror. Fluently rendered in Gregerson's distinctive three-line stanzas, these poems explore subjects from autism to genealogy to ecology. Their occasions are diverse -- a barn fire, a wounded deer, a child's determined struggle with a bicycle -- but their instinct is always to wrest from the impure world a vernacular of praise.

This collection finds grace in the unexpected:

• Poems about Mortality: From an open grave in Delft to the quiet bedside of a loved one, these poems confront loss with unflinching clarity and compassion.
• Nature and Ecology: A wounded deer, a polluted river, and the surprising resilience of the natural world are rendered in precise, observant detail.
• Family and History: Exploring the threads that connect generations, from immigrant stories to a father’s last days, weaving personal memory with the larger tapestry of history.
• A Distinctive Poetic Voice: Crafted in Linda Gregerson’s signature three-line stanzas, each poem builds with intellectual rigor and lyrical intensity, earning her place as one of the most celebrated contemporary American poets.