Nest of Matches - Paperback

by Amie Whittemore (Author)

In Amie Whittemore's Nest of Matches, the poems that bask in the beauty of nature, queerness, and love while exploring how dichotomies form identity

This collection is a lavish declaration of the beauty of the natural world, queer identity, and of the imagination set free. Whittemore's third book of poetry explores the complexities of love--romantic, familial, and love for place--and wonders at cycles of life, finding that: "Every habit / even love--strangest / of them all--offers exhaustion / and renewal."

Moving seamlessly from meditations on the moon's phases to explorations of dream spaces to searches for meaning through patterns of love and loss, Whittemore's work embodies the mysteries of dichotomies--grief and joy, consciousness and unconsciousness, habit and spontaneity--and how they coexist to create our identities. Throughout the collection, Whittemore reveals how interior nature manifests into exterior habits and how physical landscapes shape the psyche.

Author Biography

Amie Whittemore (she/her) is the author of the poetry collections Glass Harvest (Autumn House Press), Star-Tent: A Triptych (Tolsun Books), and Nest of Matches (Autumn House, 2024). She was the 2020-2021 Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. She teaches creative writing at Eastern Illinois University and directs MTSU Write, a from-home creative writing mentorship program.