My thanks to the editors of the following periodicals, where some of these poems first appeared:
The Atlantic: “Ode to Joy”
Brilliant Corners: “While in Amsterdam”
Ecotone: “New Zealand”
Five Points: “Addressing the Heart,” “Aubade,” “Beginning,” “First Typewriter,” “The Guardian,” “The Monet Conundrum,” “Sunday Drive”
The New Republic: “Lesson Plan,” “Marijuana”
The New Yorker: “Days of Teenage Glory,” “Incipit,” “Thought a Rarity on Paper”
New Ohio Review: “The Cardinal”
Poetry East: “Eden,” “Zero Grannies”
The Southampton Review: “Doctor Jesus,” “The Horses of Instruction,” “Once in a Dog’s Age,” “Poem Interrupted by Gabby Hayes,” “Winter Trivia”
“The Coronation of the Virgin” appeared in The Map of Every Lilac Leaf: Poets Respond to the Smith College Museum of Art, ed. Matt Donovan (SCMA, 2018).
“Your Poem” appeared in Hwaet! 20 Years of Ledbury Poetry Festival, ed. Mark Fisher (Bloodaxe Books, 2016).
“The Monet Conundrum” was chosen by Mary Jo Salter for Best American Poetry 2024.
I am grateful to everyone at Random House who worked to bring this book into being, especially my astute, empathetic editor, David Ebershoff. Thanks to Chris Calhoun for his friendship and unflagging advocacy, and to my devoted wife, Suzannah, for her advice and care on too many levels to mention.
Note: The poet in “A Change of Heart” is Oshima Ryota (1718–1787).