What Was and Will Be

by Eric Chiles

Overview

What do you learn from a preemie, a snake, a pink slip, a loaded pistol? Life lessons, the ability to find solace in tears, humor in hardship--and still hope. Take a journey in verse over the familiar roads many of us travel in Eric Chiles' What Was and Will Be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798385225835
Publisher:	Resource Publications (CA)
Publication date:	08/15/2024
Pages:	86
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)

About the Author

Eric Chiles, after a newspaper career, began teaching writing and journalism at colleges in eastern Pennsylvania. He is the author of the chapbook Caught in Between (2019). His poetry has appeared in dozens of journals like Chiron Review, Plainsongs, and Rattle. A grandfather, in 2014 he completed a ten-year section hike of the Appalachian Trail.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“What Was and Will Be is more than a record of life lessons. It’s an exploration of innocence and guilt, glimpses of wisdom and wonder from many stages of one person’s life. These poems might as well be etched into the poet’s skin like a tattoo, as we and Eric Chiles discover that ‘ink is another way of testifying to what’s written in blood.’”

—David J. Bauman, author of Angels & Adultery



“With the attention to detail of a journalist and the eye/soul/heart of a poet, Eric Chiles guides readers through love, loss, and laughter in meticulously crafted snapshots of the small, medium, and big events that happen between arriving on and leaving this earth. Poem after poem, he shows how life is ‘a time capsule of more than small change.’ This is a collection you’ll want to read in one sitting and then read again.”

—Dawn Leas, author of I Know When to Keep Quiet



“Whether he is caring for the sick, awaiting the arrival of a premature baby, reflecting on the complicated relationship between a parent and child, or mourning the loss of a pet, Eric Chiles treads lightly and with grace. He keeps his feet planted on the ground, offering his verse as comfort to readers as we consider our own brushes with the fragility of our days. It has been a pleasure to read these finely crafted poems.”

—Robert Fillman, author of House Bird



“Eric Chiles writes with a warm heart and a careful eye. His poems are narrative, accessible, nostalgic, and deeply human. They capture a boy coming of age and the man grown up as he tries to make his way. Chiles’ observations of normal-but-not-so-normal scenes are what make What Was and Will Be such an enjoyable collection from a poet definitely on the rise.”

—Ace Boggess, author of Escape Envy

Editorial Reviews

What Was and Will Be is more than a record of life lessons. It’s an exploration of innocence and guilt, glimpses of wisdom and wonder from many stages of one person’s life. These poems might as well be etched into the poet’s skin like a tattoo, as we and Eric Chiles discover that ‘ink is another way of testifying to what’s written in blood.’”

—David J. Bauman, author of Angels & Adultery



“With the attention to detail of a journalist and the eye/soul/heart of a poet, Eric Chiles guides readers through love, loss, and laughter in meticulously crafted snapshots of the small, medium, and big events that happen between arriving on and leaving this earth. Poem after poem, he shows how life is ‘a time capsule of more than small change.’ This is a collection you’ll want to read in one sitting and then read again.”

—Dawn Leas, author of I Know When to Keep Quiet



“Whether he is caring for the sick, awaiting the arrival of a premature baby, reflecting on the complicated relationship between a parent and child, or mourning the loss of a pet, Eric Chiles treads lightly and with grace. He keeps his feet planted on the ground, offering his verse as comfort to readers as we consider our own brushes with the fragility of our days. It has been a pleasure to read these finely crafted poems.”

—Robert Fillman, author of House Bird



“Eric Chiles writes with a warm heart and a careful eye. His poems are narrative, accessible, nostalgic, and deeply human. They capture a boy coming of age and the man grown up as he tries to make his way. Chiles’ observations of normal-but-not-so-normal scenes are what make What Was and Will Be such an enjoyable collection from a poet definitely on the rise.”

—Ace Boggess, author of Escape Envy

From the Publisher