Philly Poetry Chapbook Review is pleased to feature Caiti Quatmann’s poem “After Tragedy” as our second featured chapbook poem of Issue 6: November/December 2024. You can find more poetry in their chapbook, Yoke now available from MyrtleHaus Publishing.
After Tragedy
A campus is nothing
but the lives that move
within it. Wade trudged
through winter’s embrace;
snowflakes fell
through the night
gathering silently
on the ground, concealing
his footsteps. The space
between the dorm
and darkness, one foot
in the buzz of college
life, one in the silence.
He couldn’t hear the calls—
our shouting, the searching—
frozen in the bitter air.
I wanted to step into the silence,
trace the invisible path
he wandered through,
halt the snow
so he could stand again,
but my heart held
as if anchored in ice.
The snow on the ground
reflected the moon
and then became it, rose upward
and outward, filling every footprint,
sealing the quiet,
leaving only night.
About the Poem
The poem “After Tragedy,” from my chapbook Yoke, reflects on the disappearance of my former college friend Wade Steffey, who went missing after a party at Purdue University in January 2007 (he was later found dead in the high voltage room in my dormitory).
It is included in the first half of the collection, which explores my attempt to navigate Wade’s disappearance and death—both as a young woman when they first occurred and in the intervening 17 years since.
“After Tragedy,” and Yoke as a whole, delves into how memory and mourning intersect, transforming landscapes—both physical and emotional—into spaces where absence reverberates. It is an attempt to reconcile the weight of unanswerable questions and the struggle of grappling with loss.
Author Bio
Caiti Quatmann (she/her) is a disabled poet, writer, and mother from St. Louis, MO. She is the author of the poetry chapbook Yoke (MyrtleHaus) and Editor-in-Chief for HNDL Mag. She studied and taught writing at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Her poetry and personal essays have been published by Samfiftyfive, Thread LitMag and others. Find her on Social Media @CaitiTalks.
From Yoke
In January 2007, a college friend went missing and wasn’t found for weeks. Months later, another friend was found dead. In her evocative debut, Caiti Quatmann launches a heartfelt examination of memory and mourning, unveiling and unraveling these twin tragedies.
With language that pierces and embraces, Quatmann navigates the intricate wilderness of loss, exploring its pervasive impact on the poet’s existence. These narratives are not merely recounted; they are re-lived—each moment resonating with the intense emotion of personal and communal grief.
These stories are invitations—intimate, raw, transformative—to traverse the delicate and often tumultuous terrains of tragedy, memory, and acceptance. This book does more than recount loss; it seeks to understand and articulate the indescribable, making the invisible mourning visible and vital.
With each couplet, the reader is drawn deeper into the heart of mourning, discovering the paradoxical beauty that can emerge from the depths of despair. Here, in the beautiful muck of grieving, the author extends a hand, urging you to grasp the joy and pain of remembering, inviting you to bring your own experiences of loss into the light. This is not just a book; it is an experience—a journey that promises to touch your soul and change your understanding of love and loss. Join in this transformative exploration and find your own narrative within its pages.
Contents
PCR is calling for submissions of original poetry for the first time between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15. We’re also opening to submissions of poem excerpts from full-length collections. Read this post for details!
Check out new poetry books for the week of 11/5 from Querencia Press, Grid Books, Finishing Line Press, Fireside Industries, Princeton University Press, BOA Editions Ltd, Bloodaxe Books, Button Poetry, University of Pittsburgh Press, Persea, W. W. Norton and Omnidawn.
Chapbook Poem: copper by nat raum
Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for November 2024, “copper” from salt box by nat raum, along with a few words from the poet.
Poetry Chapbooks (October 2024)
Check out our round-up of poetry chapbooks published in October 2024 by Two Sylvias Press, Yavanika Press, The Poetry Box, Variant Lit, Kith Books, Newfound, Black Lawrence Press, Diode Editions, Nine Syllables Press, Querencia Press, Bottlecap Press and Finishing Line Press.
Check out new poetry books for the week of 11/12 from Querencia Press, CavanKerry Press, Talonbooks, Finishing Line Press, Black Ocean, University of Calgary Press and University of Wisconsin Press.
Check out new poetry books for the week of 11/19 from Copper Canyon Press. Random House, Winter Editions, Books and Finishing Line Press.
Check out new poetry books for the week of 11/26 from Nightboat Books, Alice James Books, NYRB Poets, Unicorn Publishing Group and Finishing Line Press.
Check out new poetry titles for December 2024 from Green Linden Press, After Hours Editions, White Stag Publishing, Anvil Press, Eulalia Books, Empty Bowl, The Song Cave, Variant Literature, University of Nevada Press, LSU Press, Bloodaxe Books and Tupelo Press.
Poetry Chapbooks (November 2024)
Check out our round-up of poetry chapbooks published in November 2024 by Kith Books, Kernpunkt Press, Finishing Line Press and Bottlecap Press.
Chapbook Poem: After Tragedy by Caiti Quatmann
Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for December 2024, “After Tragedy” from Yoke by Caiti Quatmann, along with a few words from the poet.
Review: The Two Hearts Inside Us by Jill R. Burkey
“Jill R. Burkey dares to question in her chapbook, The Two Hearts Inside Us, because ‘questions breed possibility.'” Read the full chapbook review by new PCR contributor, Shelli Rottschafer.