It Will Have Been So Beautiful by Amanda Shaw (March-June 2024)

Please join us for the spring 2024 blog tour for It Will Have Been So Beautiful by Amanda Shaw, published by Lily Poetry Review in March 2024.

With urgency and compassion, humor and wonder, Amanda Shaw’s It Will Have Been So Beautiful examines the many dimensions of what it means to call anything “home,” including the earth as we know it. In a manner reminiscent of Eugène Atget, who wrote “will disappear” on his photographs of turn-of-the-century Paris, Shaw captures the unique melancholy of living in a time of unknowable change.

As she explores the line between love and loss, Shaw implores us to find a more profound commitment to life in all its forms. At times playful and ironic, the poems celebrate language’s sonic capacities, probing art’s potential to move us from mourning to joy.

Advance Praise:

Alan Shapiro, acclaimed author of “Life Pig,” describes Shaw’s debut as “a beautiful and troubling book.” Shaw’s intelligence breathes life into every line, offering a rich, complex, and startlingly vivid exploration of the impact of the “enlightened” West juxtaposed with a poignant portrayal of the best and worst aspects of humanity.

Nathan McClain, author of “Previously Owned,” praises Shaw’s collection, noting that it is as interested in language itself as what language can create. With an “ear attuned to silences,” Shaw navigates the complexity of human interactions, addressing topics such as illness, home, love, and loss. The energetic collection uses a rich, musical dialect that resonates with the reader.

About the Poet:

From the time she learned to read her first word — “Boom!” — Amanda Shaw has been in love with literature and language. She earned a BA in English from Smith College and has advanced degrees in education and writing. Equally at ease in a high school classroom and a World Bank boardroom, she is an expert teacher who continues to share her belief in the power of words with students of all ages.

Amanda began her career at a public high school in Brooklyn, where she was committed to student-centered curriculum and staff development as part of NYC’s small schools movement. After nine years in the city, she moved on to teaching ESL internationally and domestically, first in Rome and now in Washington DC. Witnessing poetry’s unique impact on students’ intellectual and emotional development galvanized her own writing. In 2020, she received her MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers.

In addition to actively participating in local and online writing communities, Amanda is the book review editor for Lily Poetry Review Books, where she supports emerging writers. Lily Poetry Review Books will publish her debut collection, It Will Have Been So Beautiful, in March 2024. The poems, written over 15 years, explore love and loss in personal and global contexts. For the past four years, Amanda has divided her time between New Hampshire, where she was born, and Washington, DC. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Add to GoodReads:

Available on Amazon, Lily Poetry Review, and Bookshop.org.

Tour Schedule:

March 25: Lavender Orchids (review)

April 10: The Book Lover’s Bourdoir (review)

April 25: The Book Connection (review)

May 10: Review Tales by Jeyran Main (interview)

May 22: Wall-to-Wall Books (review)

June 6: True Book Addict (review)

June 24: the bookworm (guest post)

Follow the tour with the hashtag #SoBeautiful