Quicksand/Stargazing is the debut collection of poems by Remi Recchia.

This is the first book exclusively devoted to the Civil War writings of Walt Whitman and Herman Melville, arguably the most important poets of the war. The essays brought together in this volume add significantly to recent critical appreciation of the skill and sophistication of these poets; growing recognition of the complexity of their views of the war; and heightened appreciation for the anxieties they harbored about its aftermath. Both in the ways they come together and seem mutually influenced, and in the ways they disagree, Whitman and Melville grapple with the casualties, complications, and anxieties of the war while highlighting its irresolution. This collection makes clear that rather than simply and straightforwardly memorializing the events of the war, the poetry of Whitman and Melville weighs carefully all sorts of vexing questions and considerations, even as it engages a cultural politics that is never pat. Contributors: Kyle Barton, Peter Bellis, Adam Bradford, Jonathan A. Cook, Ian Faith, Ed Folsom, Timothy Marr, Cody Marrs, Christopher Ohge, Vanessa Steinroetter, Sarah L. Thwaites, Brian Yothers

from Tina Chang: "A fiercely feminine blood runs through these poems. Of wire, of salt, of harvest, of motherhood, of daughterhood, and all that these elements lay claim to. Gee reveals an astonishing voice that is equal parts ferocious and tender. This book builds a generous fire where origin is praised and where history shines beyond the flame."

Women in Parentheses is a delightful, important, sexy, smart, and sassy collection of poems about women caught between the concrete and abstract, the real and imagined-confines, parentheses, sometimes cultural, psychological, sexual, or of their own making. Poet Catherine Arra possesses a confident woman's voice full of grace and generosity, strength and vulnerability. The women that inhabit these poems "step(s) on out" and "paint the town," wear red lipstick, even though the book doesn't dwell on the physical but sticks to substance. There is a sense of inclusiveness and universality for all women-portraits from every walk of life. The poet uses nostalgia/childhood to great effect with references to Barbie & Ken, Cinderella, Once Upon a Time princes, and she seems to do this effortlessly, without being overly sentimental or sacrificing the adult voice. From girls to wise older women, Arra looks at the ways in which women are squeezed into the circumstances and expectations of gender, how some live life there, while others dig escape tunnels or kick down walls.

"This visual wellspring of the cosmos is the perfect companion for every stargazer. Filled with page after page of magnificent photographs, this book offers a deep dive into the past, present, and future of our home galaxy: the Milky Way. Embark on this dramatic journey by witnessing the stunning birth, life, and death of stars--including story of our own sun and the solar system it sustains. Continue on to discover our galaxy within the known universe with a scintillating peek at exoplanets, the new frontier in the search for life. Detailed maps and absorbing imagery from recent space missions illuminate the latest scientific information, complemented by a foreword by celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield."-- Back cover.

Nineteenth-century American literature is often divided into two asymmetrical halves, neatly separated by the Civil War. Focusing on the later writings of Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, this book shows how the war took shape across the nineteenth century, inflecting literary forms for decades after 1865.