The Last Milkweed

Autumn is the inspiration behind this anthology, but not necessarily the destination. The destination is the discovery of the human condition, the discovery of the ways in which we respond to the natural world.

In this extraordinary anthology, forty-seven contemporary poets and one photographer respond to the myriad ways in which what we think and feel about the ＂autumnal＂ resonates through our lives and senses: spiritually, physically, and philosophically. Contributing poets were asked ＂to let their language rub up against any part or parts of the autumnal world that calls to them, whether from the outside in or the inside out.＂ In other words, these autumn poems and photographs need not so much as mention fallen leaves, milkweed, or even ＂autumn.＂ Autumn is the inspiration, but not necessarily the destination. The destination is as ever, the discovery of the human condition, the discovery of the ways in which we respond to the natural world.

The poems included in this anthology have all been written fresh in response to the autumnal prompt, with new work from luminaries such as Elise Paschen, Martha Ronk, G.C. Waldrep, Michael Chitwood, Gillian Cummings, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, Rick Hilles, Eva Hooker, Luisa A. Igloria, and William Orem.

The photographs are by Jeffrey Levine, who, in addition to being executive director of Tupelo Press, is widely recognized for his work behind the camera. These images boast exceptional composition and color, but beyond technique, each photo offers up a penetrating resonance on the theme of autumn and the autumnal.

Jeffrey Levine is the author of three books of poetry: At the Kinnegad Home for the Bewildered, Rumor of Cortez, and Mortal, Everlasting. His many poetry prizes include the Larry Levis Prize from the Missouri Review, the James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, the Mississippi Review Poetry Prize, the Ekphrasis Poetry Prize, and the American Literary Review Poetry Prize. His poems have garnered twenty-one Pushcart nominations. A graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, Levine is the founder, artistic director, and publisher of Tupelo Press, an award-winning independent literary press located in the historic NORAD Mill in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Alan Berolzheimer is a consulting editor at Tupelo Press. Allison O’Keefe is the operations administrator at Tupelo Press. She is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and she lives in North Adams.