Last to Leave

by Christie Grimes

"I think of bars filled with smoke, missed bank shots and broken darts, free beer from the end of the bar, a drunk friend you might see later, someone you might never see again." -from "Last to Leave" "In Last to Leave, Christie Grimes two-steps through the heat and seasoning of Texas and embraces rural northern New York in poems that sweat and chuckle, question and speak of resolve. These poems are familiar with salsa and barrooms, classrooms, and warm kitchens. These are rites of passage painted in language lush with flavor and craft. " Georgia A. Popoff Author of Psalter: The Agnostic's Book of Common Curiosities

Genres: Poetry

56 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2015

About the author

Christie Grimes teaches writing at SUNY Jefferson. She also hosts the North Country Writers Festival in Watertown, NY, as well as the monthly reading and performance series, First Fridays, in Sackets Harbor, NY.

Her chapbook, Last to Leave, is now available. Her narrative poetry collection will be published by Jane's Boy Press in June 2016.

A former assistant editor at American Short Fiction, Grimes’ stories have been published in journals such as Harpur Palate and Passages North. Christie Grimes is currently at work on a collection of stories and a supernatural thriller set in Sackets Harbor, NY.

Follow her on facebook @christiegrimeswriter

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the food poems (I, too, am obsessed with butter), but my favorite poem overall was probably "End of the Day." Grimes' collection made me feel homesick for a place I've never been! Definitely worth the read.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christie Grimes's narrative poetry in Last to Leave is truly a wonder. From the back roads of Texas to Astroworld to an alternate pastry shop future for Marie Antoinette, she explores the complexity of nostalgia and the respite we can find in our senses. Already looking forward to her next book!

[Matthew Gavin Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grimes' book-- often hilarious, often tender, often both simultaneously-- investigates the holiness and humanity of the things we often dismiss as oddity. I adore this book.

[Armenator · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these poems.