Moonpath Press (2013)
“Albert Einstein once said pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. The elegant poems in Willingly Would I Burn possess such purity, such poetic expressions of logical ideas. These poems blend math and science, presenting poems as word problems for the complicated times we live in. The grace and strength of Laura LeHew's voice vibrate from every single page."
—Roxane Gay, Co-Editor, PANK
In this exciting new collection, Laura LeHew gives us poems of the most adventurous kind. Re-purposing the skeletal language and visual constructs of science and math, of computers and banking and even of standardized testing—utilizing, as well, both conventional and invented poetic forms—LeHew's philosophical algorithms are at once both personal and universal: poems of witness and social awareness, of love and loss, of happiness and its limits, of family dysfunction, health care, and a wide range of social ills that stem from the “arrogant discourse” of those in charge. Willingly Will I Burn expands my horizons and gives me heart.
—Ingrid Wendt, author of Evensong
In Willingly Will I Burn, Laura LeHew reveals the emotion and humor that threads through the details of everyday life. She achieves this partly through her brave honesty, and partly by inserting poetry into forms that no one else has ever attempted, from math word problems to org charts to airplane reservation emails to retirement account statements. In Laura LeHew's world, poetry appears foremost in the most surprising places.
—Zack Rogow, author of My Mother and the Ceiling Dancers
Nominated for the Oregon Book Award 2014.
“Albert Einstein once said pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. The elegant poems in Willingly Would I Burn possess such purity, such poetic expressions of logical ideas. These poems blend math and science, presenting poems as word problems for the complicated times we live in. The grace and strength of Laura LeHew's voice vibrate from every single page."
—Roxane Gay, Co-Editor, PANK
In this exciting new collection, Laura LeHew gives us poems of the most adventurous kind. Re-purposing the skeletal language and visual constructs of science and math, of computers and banking and even of standardized testing—utilizing, as well, both conventional and invented poetic forms—LeHew's philosophical algorithms are at once both personal and universal: poems of witness and social awareness, of love and loss, of happiness and its limits, of family dysfunction, health care, and a wide range of social ills that stem from the “arrogant discourse” of those in charge. Willingly Will I Burn expands my horizons and gives me heart.
—Ingrid Wendt, author of Evensong
In Willingly Will I Burn, Laura LeHew reveals the emotion and humor that threads through the details of everyday life. She achieves this partly through her brave honesty, and partly by inserting poetry into forms that no one else has ever attempted, from math word problems to org charts to airplane reservation emails to retirement account statements. In Laura LeHew's world, poetry appears foremost in the most surprising places.
—Zack Rogow, author of My Mother and the Ceiling Dancers
Nominated for the Oregon Book Award 2014.