That Ship Has Sailed: Poems

That Ship Has Sailed synthesizes the serious and comic to address sex, love, loss, death, belief, the afterlife, and the past. The poems are honest and direct without sacrificing ＂the uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts＂ that Keats singles out in his notion of ＂negative capability,＂ alluded to in the title poem. Amplified by the poet’s work as a traditional Irish musician and composer, language is the adhesive that brings the work together across the avant-garde to traditional forms and meters.

Terence Winch is the author of eight earlier poetry collections, the young adult novel Seeing Eye Boy, and the short story collections Contenders and That Special Place. He is the recipient of an NEA Poetry Fellowship, a Gertrude Stein Award for Innovative Writing, a Columbia Book Award, and the America Book Award, among other honors. The Bronx-born son of Irish immigrants, Winch is also a founding member of acclaimed Irish band Celtic Thunder and composer of the band’s best-known song, ＂When New York Was Irish.＂ Since 2020, he has served as editor of a feature on the Best American Poetry’s blog called ＂Pick of the Week.＂