Late Epistle

Winner of 2022 Sappho's Prize in Poetry

Late Epistle is a rare first book, one that radiates all the pleasures of poetry-sound, form, and figurative language, among others-but also one that evidences a life transformed by discovery. Read and marvel at Anne Myles's prowess, then read again to be forever changed by her vulnerability and depth of feeling. This "dark and lustrous" book permits entry into the "not-yet-known" with miraculous clarity.
-Natasha Saj?, author of The Future Will Call You Something Else

A sensual imagination informs these poems with startling images and line turns that astonish. I love the childhood narratives, the family sadnesses and secrets revealed, the tender, wise observations. Formally inventive, the poems that showcase a woman-loving-woman anchor the speaker in a story of self-invention and a sustainable life.
-Robin Becker, author of The Black Bear Inside Me

Muriel Rukeyser asks, "What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?" In this candid, emphatically visceral collection, Anne Myles speaks her truth with unflinching ardency, astonishing the reader with poems that are both masterfully crafted and strikingly forthright. Reading this book, I experienced the pure delight of a strongly female voice claiming its identity and purpose.
-Martha Silano, author of Gravity Assist

In Late Epistle, Anne Myles has given us a thoughtful and moving account of her journey to become a poet, singing in a voice (Athena-like, sprung fully formed) that is lyrical and tender, honest and unsparing. In poems of family, loss, love, grief, and the ongoing quest to find and express the true self, the deep intelligence of the work shines through in evocative imagery, lovely language, and subtle yet effective uses of form.
-Moira Egan, author of Amore e morte