Rachel
Adams writes poems with her tongue, not a pencil or a keypad. Her hands are
always too busy—driving a truck from Arizona to the Berkshires, or renovating a
house by performing hundreds of exquisite demolitions to its insides. In
“Catoctin Mountain Traversal” Adams—the speaker—picks up “items usually stepped
upon— // the pine cones, sharp, pockmarked with catacombs, / the fallen bark,
pressed hard into dirt, / and wet, embedded leaves, spread out and crushed.”
Adams’ debut collection What Is Heard is another beautiful
chapbook produced by Red Bird Press whose editors have been eating lots of
spinach since January. After six years of a book here or there, they’ve added
fifteen to their muscle catalog through August.
