Thing Is Poems

A startling and hip collection of poetry from a dual American/Canadian citizen who's already making waves on the literary scene.

Suzannah Showler's bracing, intense second collection is equal parts cultural critique and phenomenological investigation. Building on the enlightened skepticism of her much-praised debut, Thing Is puts the hashtag age through some much-needed paces. Witty, cutting, heartbroken, and cautiously hopeful, these poems are really about "aboutness," about what it means to be alive right now. They also nimbly advance the longstanding poetic argument for the value of considered attention: "What follows from / what you know is / not the same thing / as knowledge. Even / when you get it right."

SUZANNAH SHOWLER's first book, Failure to Thrive (2014), was a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award and named one of the best books of the year by the National Post. Her poetry and non-fiction have appeared in places such as Slate, The Walrus, Maisonneuve, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Hazlitt. She is a 2017-2018 Presidential Fellow at The Ohio State University.