Dan Chiasson

Dan Chiasson has been contributing poems to the magazine since 2000 and reviews since 2007. He teaches at Wellesley College. His poetry collections include “Where’s the Moon, There’s the Moon” and, most recently, “Bicentennial.”

All Work

Books
October 9, 2017 Issue
Joni Mitchell’s Openhearted Heroism
She made the best music of her generation by falling in love, over and over, while defending her sense of self.
By Dan Chiasson
Books
October 2, 2017 Issue
Danez Smith’s Ecstatic Body Language
In “Don’t Call Us Dead,” the poet brings the unruly power of performance to the written word.
By Dan Chiasson
Books
September 18, 2017 Issue
The Ascetic Insight of W. S. Merwin
After escaping the anxiety of influence, the poet discovered a brilliant, elemental poetry.
By Dan Chiasson
Culture Desk
Postscript: John Ashbery
Ashbery, who died on Sunday, was the greatest American poet of the last fifty years.
By Dan Chiasson
September 4, 2017
Books
September 4, 2017 Issue
The Playful Poetry of Ange Mlinko
“Distant Mandate” channels pain and wisdom through the screwball brilliance of its author.
By Dan Chiasson
Books
August 7 & 14, 2017 Issue
Susan Howe’s Patchwork Poems
Howe’s melding of memoir, collage, and New England history has produced one of the great careers in American poetry.
By Dan Chiasson
Books
May 15, 2017 Issue
Mai Der Vang’s and Airea D. Matthews’s Striking Débuts
Vang’s “Afterland” and Matthews’s “Simulacra” are remarkable, virtuosic collections from young poets.
By Dan Chiasson
Poems
May 1, 2017 Issue
From “The Names of 1,001 Strangers”
Poetry: “Imagine that: paper and notes to self, / emotionless, like origami. / Even the backhand, even the match.”
By Dan Chiasson
Books
April 3, 2017 Issue
Bill Knott’s Anti-Career of Guerrilla Poetry
He resented publishers, assumed the worst in readers, and thrived in the era of the flame wars. His work remains a delight.
By Dan Chiasson
Books
March 20, 2017 Issue
The Illness and Insight of Robert Lowell
A new book is the first to bring clinical expertise to the poet’s case. What does it reveal about his work?
By Dan Chiasson

Older entries

Dan Chiasson

All Work

She made the best music of her generation by falling in love, over and over, while defending her sense of self.

In “Don’t Call Us Dead,” the poet brings the unruly power of performance to the written word.

After escaping the anxiety of influence, the poet discovered a brilliant, elemental poetry.

Ashbery, who died on Sunday, was the greatest American poet of the last fifty years.

September 4, 2017

“Distant Mandate” channels pain and wisdom through the screwball brilliance of its author.

Howe’s melding of memoir, collage, and New England history has produced one of the great careers in American poetry.

Vang’s “Afterland” and Matthews’s “Simulacra” are remarkable, virtuosic collections from young poets.

Poetry: “Imagine that: paper and notes to self, / emotionless, like origami. / Even the backhand, even the match.”

He resented publishers, assumed the worst in readers, and thrived in the era of the flame wars. His work remains a delight.

A new book is the first to bring clinical expertise to the poet’s case. What does it reveal about his work?