Gratitude to the editors of the following journals and magazines in whose pages these poems first appeared, sometimes in a different form:
Adroit: “Deciding.” AGNI: “Natick,” “Window Washers.” Arcadia: “Graduation.” Bat City Review: “Free Armchair, Worcester,” “Dundalk.” Blackbird: “Brothers.” The Cortland Review: “When Charlie Pulls the Colorado Over.” Devil’s Lake: “Blue.” Forklift, Ohio: “Behind the Eyes, & Shining,” “Next of Kin.” Gulf Coast: “After the Attempt.” Indiana Review: “After the Hurricane,” “My Father at 49, Working the Night Shift at B&R Diesel.” The Journal: “The First Time.” The Missouri Review: “Graffiti.” Narrative: “Close,” “My Father at 23, on the Highway Side of an Overpass Fence.” New England Review: “In the Supply Closet at Illing Middle.” Passages North: “Workbench.” Ploughshares: “Interim.” Redivider: “Tap Out.” The Sewanee Review: “Piecework,” “Franklin Free Clinic,” “Going,” “Michael,” “Safety.”
“After the Hurricane” was featured at the NEA Writer’s Corner.
“My Father at 49 . . .” was chosen by Tracy K. Smith for inclusion in Best New Poets 2015.
“Free Armchair, Worcester” was chosen by Natalie Diaz for inclusion in Best New Poets 2017.
This book would not have been possible without the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Writing Program at Stanford University, the MFA program at Vanderbilt University, the Kratz Center for Creative Writing at Goucher College, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the MacDowell Colony. Thank you to the hardworking folks who keep these institutions alive and well.
Unending thanks to my teachers & mentors Elizabeth Spires, Mark Jarman, Eavan Boland, Louise Glück, Ken Fields, Rick Hilles, Beth Bachmann, Pete Fairchild, Ann Christie, Edward Hirsch, Tom Sleigh, Kate Daniels, Stephen Rascher, David Lang, Adam Ross, Eduardo C. Corral, Carl Phillips, and Rick Barot—and to my very first poetry teacher, Steve Straight, whose sharpness and generosity encouraged me to pursue a life in language.
To fellow writers & dear friends Tiana Clark, Will Brewer, Ryann Stevenson, Chris Drangle, Emma Catherine Perry, Noah Warren, Grady Chambers, Margaret Ross, Kai Carlson-Wee, Javier Zamora, Mikko Harvey, Matthew Kelsey, Laura Romeyn, Keith Leonard, Kien Lam, Ari Banias, Solmaz Sharif, Brian Tierney, Kara Krewer, Will Schutt, Michael Lee, Janet Thielke, Claire Jimenez, Ricardo Zamarano Baez, Anessa Ibrahim, Justin Boening, Cate Lycurgus, Chad Abushanab, Josh Kalscheur, Phillip B. Williams, Sam Ross, and Ben Naka-Hasebe Kingsley.
To my workshop-mates at Vanderbilt and Stanford, especially Chris Adamson, Cara Dees, Dan Haney, Alicia Brandewie, Anne Charlton, Sara Strong, Max McDonough, Simone Wolff, Mary Somerville, Charif Shanahan, J. Bruce Fuller, Casey Thayer, Nick Friedman, and Essy Stone.
To my family, especially Rowena and Jim, Linda and Tim, Nancy, Sharon, the King and Queen, Rob, Jason, Larry and Dora, Jessie and Tom, Evil Auntie Sue, Camma, Cheryl and Joe, Zack, Carole, Greg, Cathy and Steve, Bill and Teresa, Otto and Karen, Jim and Nivin, Meme and Pepe, Grandpa K—and to all my cousins, blood or otherwise.
To my mom, Suzanne, and my brothers, Luke and Noah, whose love has saved me many times over.
To my father, Christopher, who cared for me when I was a baby.
To my brilliant editor, Jenny Xu, whose ideas shaped this book profoundly, and to the HMH crew who worked tirelessly on its behalf.
To Anders Carlson-Wee, whose steadfast friendship has meant the world. Here’s to many more years working side by side in the shop.
And to my sweetheart, the radiant Katie Moulton, without whom none of this would mean a thing.