22 THINGS

Widick’s (Gluten Free Soul Pilot, 2017, etc.) latest poetry collection highlights the magic in the mundane.

One of the key themes of this collection is that moments of wonder and miraculousness are hidden in the everyday. The author focuses on such details with energy and aplomb in her strongest pieces. One of the best is “destiny,” which tells of the simple joys of a summer evening outside one’s house: “In your backyard / Take a brain break / Free floating on the Alucia, / A vanguard / You don’t have to go far / Starry skies, mind tricks, pink sand / Jazzy sounds.” The author wonderfully shows how quickly little things like starry skies and jazz can give way to moments of rapture. Here and elsewhere, Widick writes in short bursts, but she pulls off the neat trick of maintaining a smooth flow even when her lines are brief. Less effective are the volume’s occasional monorhymes, particularly in the opening poem “collage”: “Words from many places / Reaching out and touching bases / Greetings, messages with traces / Of love filled warm embraces / Poems with smiling faces / What we are is Lucky Aces.” The unrelenting singsong manner here feels a bit too precious, and it may distract readers from the poet’s evident skill. But this small weakness is more than offset by the volume’s simple, effective design, directed by Kristen Alden, who works in a palette of black and white with poem titles that run vertically up the side of each page. This layout is arresting and has the happy effect of putting Widick’s titles and verses into a closer and more productive conversation than they might otherwise have.

Mostly fun and energetic poems that also have a striking appearance.