A new edition of the first book of poems from the Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Phillips, with a new afterword.

I am no mystic. I know
nothing rises that doesnt
know how to already.
In my ears, only the clubbed
foot of routine, no voices, no

Even in his first book of poems, the deep contradictions in Carl Phillipss work are already pronounced. Here is a subtle poet, attuned to the simple honesty of everyday speech, and yet steeped in classical allusion. Life here is quiet, yet burning with anger and unavoidable desire. Offering intimate statements of passion and yet retaining a private withholding, these poems take as their primary subject the bodygrowing, aging, lovingand spirit that fills the flesh.

WhenIn the Bloodwas selected for the 1992 Morse Poetry Prize, Carl Phillips was a high-school Latin teacher. Thirty years later, he has written seventeen books of poetry, has received the Pulitzer Prize, and is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary poetry.

Carl Phillipsis the author of many books of poetry, includingScattered Snows, to the NorthandThen the War: And Selected Poems, 20072020, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publish Date: March 17, 2026
• Pages: 128
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9780374608866
• Dimensions: 209.6 X 136.5 X 1422.4 mm | 0.3 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Poetry