All Our Unforeseen Lives
Three recent poetry collections — Ian Hall’s Creekwater Mansions, Gaylord Brewer’s Goodbye, Baby, and Rachel Landrum Crumble’s In Praise of Detours — give voice to times of turbulence and upheaval.
Poetry
“To See Small Fish in High Branches”
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Nashvillian Annette Sisson’s first book of poetry, Small Fish in High Branches, was released in 2022 by Glass Lyre Press. Her poems have appeared in Birmingham Poetry Review, Nashville Review, and One. Her chapbook, A Casting Off, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2019.
“Bugs Bunny, Postmodern Postmortem”
Richard Collins’ Cartoons for the Chaos: Poems 1975-2025, was published in March 2026. His previous books include John Fante: A Literary Portrait, No Fear Zen, In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir, and Stone Nest. Since 2016 he has been abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple and now resides in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he directs Stone Nest Zen Dojo.
A Celebration of Everything Alive and Whole
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Chapter 16 talks with Ada Limón, a poet whose work is grounded in the physical world, delighting in nature and urging readers toward curiosity and wonder.
Loss, Life, and Hope
Chattanooga poet Christian Collier focuses on loss and grieving in his debut collection, Greater Ghost, while still infusing every poem with a pulsing, insistent life. He will be the featured author for Writers@Work 2026 in Chattanooga on April 7-9 and a visiting writer at the Southern Literary Festival at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga on April 11.
Broke-Down Blessing
Nashville poet Donovan McAbee’s first full-length collection, Holy the Body, brims with depictions of the spiritual life that refuse dogma or sentimental cliché. McAbee will discuss Holy the Body at a book launch event at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville on March 24, with featured guests including Ciona Rouse, Thomm Jutz, Mark Jarman, and Mary Gauthier.
