Last Train to Paradise New and Selected Poems

Last Train to Paradise by Martha Silano includes work from all seven of Silano’ s previously published books along with thirty-five new poems written shortly before Silano’ s death from ALS in 2025. Silano’ s poetry has won numerous awards and accolades and has been featured in the Best American Poetry twice. She has earned praise from many of our most celebrated contemporary poets including Pulitzer winner Diane Seuss who pens the introduction to this collection. The range of Silano’ s work from the past quarter century, and all the life and love it embraces and collects in its revelatory and expansive linguistic virtuoso is testimony to the mind of one of our most tireless and talented poets.

Martha Silano has authored seven poetry books, including Gravity Assist (Saturnalia Books, 2019), The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception, winner of the 2010 Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize and a Washington State Book Award finalist, and Reckless Lovely (Saturnalia Books, 2014), and most recently, Terminal Surreal (Acre Books, 2025). She also co-authored, with Kelli Russell Agodon, The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice. Silano’ s poems have appeared in Poetry, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, Paris Review, AGNI, American Poetry Review,Kenyon Review Online, Blackbird, Cop