Season of the Second Thought

Lynn Powell teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Oberlin College, where she directs Oberlin's Writers-in-the-Schools Program. She has published two previous collections of poetry: Old & New Testaments, winner of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry, and The Zones of Paradise. Her nonfiction book Framing Innocence won the Studs & Ida Terkel Award.

Let Powell's images and figures wash over you. They can be deft and unobtrusive, but they will stick with you; they will illuminate what otherwise might be dark. A poet so sure-handed is irresistible. Dazzling."" - Robert Wrigley""Not just written, but wrought. Powell's new poems deftly combine keen observation with perfect pitch, and their rich chiaroscuro renders them vibrant and painterly as the Dutch masters they often reference. The current running through her lines leaves me shivering with excitement and gratitude."" - R. T. Smith, author of In the Night Orchard“A marvel of self-searching through the many levels of a complex woman’s life. We journey with her through the seasons of experience where everything—nature, art, music, religion, sexuality, language, the street—radiate light. Her daring range and radiant language find a precedent in poets such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, Wallace Stevens, Elizabeth Bishop, and Adrienne Rich, yet they are uniquely her own blend and voice.”—New York Journal of Books“An assured poet who uses vivid and sometimes witty language to explore the natural world. . . . A terrific collection.”—Library Journal“Season of the Second Thought grabbed me by the poetry lapels and shook me senseless. Powell musing in a blue mood is as good as Miles Davis doing the same.”—Today’s Book of Poetry