The Poem Forest (2022)

Vibrant art and poetic narration tell the story of US Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, who spent forty years planting one of the world’s most comprehensive palm tree forest—and then gave it all away.

All his life, William Stanley searched for a wild place of his own. Growing up in the straightened-out city blocks of his childhood and finding some respite in summer trips to a cabin in the woods, William Stanley yearned for space, fragrant soil, tall trees, and the silence that surrounds them. In Hawaii, he learned of acres of land depleted from toxic agricultural practices, and he became determined to restore that land and create one of the most comprehensive palm gardens in the world. With hope and lyricism, award-winning poet Carrie Fountain and artist Chris Turnham tell the enchanting story of famed US Poet Laureate and ecologist W. S. Merwin, who planted nearly three thousand palm trees on his property in Hawaii, leaving as his legacy a wild space for everyone.

The Life (2021)

But it’s not like 'any great art'— it’s this one book, this voice, this life, the only one we have. And this book changed it. —Brenda Shaughnessy

The poems in Carrie Fountain’s third collection, The Life, exist somewhere, as Rilke says, between “our daily life” and “the great work”–an interstitial space where sidelong glances live alongside shouts to heaven. In elegant, colloquial language, Fountain observes her children dressing themselves in fledgling layers of personhood, creating their own private worlds and personalities, and makes room for genuine marvels in the midst of routine. Attuned to the delicate, fleeting moments that together comprise a life, these poems offer a guide by which to navigate the signs and symbols, and to pilot if not the perfect life, the only life, the life we are given.

Praise for THE LIFE

Carrie Fountain has done it again—and again, I’m in awe, like a kid watching a magician and hoping to understand the tricks. How, reading this book, can I be so grounded in the life—its paper valentines, its grocery runs, its dead pet fish that “flash like money one last time / before vanishing down the drain”—but also be taken elsewhere, beyond? In poems that explore motherhood, selfhood, marriage, faith and belief, and the deep loneliness of being human, Fountain celebrates love and family while also acknowledging that we are traveling alone toward wherever it is we are going: “It is unbearable, and though / it is unbearable, I bear it.” Perhaps, as she writes, there is no such thing as perfect, only “good enough,” but The Life seems evidence to the contrary. To me this book is perfect.”
—Maggie Smith, author of Good Bones and Goldenrod

“Life here has been caught, still squirming, on poet Fountain’s lines. She lets her haul go, releases and casts another line, one after another, big and little fish, small or wild or turning lines. Each catch released as if the fisher forgot her hunger for a split second and it came back, ravenous for her. This poet’s voice works the way any great art works: so beautiful it hurts maybe too much that it seems dangerous. But it’s not like 'any great art'— it’s this one book, this voice, this life, the only one we have. And this book changed it.” —Brenda Shaughnessy, author of The Octopus Museum

“With its wonder at daily living, The Life lures you into its quiet world only to ignite in abundance, ferocity, and the aching truth of survival. Fountain's stunning poems illuminate the complexities of motherhood and marriage with a clear, lyrical voice that speaks to us all.” —Ada Limón, author of The Carrying

Every poem is a marvel of craft; Fountain displays exquisite judgment, with each image, figure, question, paradox, snippet of overheard conversation, and philosophical meditation finding its perfect place. The effect is quietly exhilarating. Humor and heartbreak intertwine . . . Through the alchemy of honest inquiry and clever wordplay [...] Fountain makes good on the transformative promise of poetry, ‘making one/ thing become another’ in this remarkable work. —from Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

I write to you about The Life with tear tracks on my cheeks. Not even old ones, because every time I look back at one of the pieces that make up Carrie Fountain's third collection of poetry, the whole process starts anew . . . Fountain is skillfully tying minute, personal experiences to our biggest quandaries about human nature to devastating effect . . . I'm very grateful to Fountain for finally bursting the stormcloud hovering above me. It's a long-awaited rain.” —Rosalind Faires, Austin Chronicle

I’m Not Missing (2018)

 Readers will see themselves or people they know on every page. A must-read for any teen who’s felt the pain of lost friendship and the challenge of finding herself. —BookPage

When Miranda Black’s mother abandoned her, she took everything—the sun, moon, and stars—and Miranda found shelter in her friendship with Syd, who wore her own motherlessness like a badge of honor: Our mothers abandoned us. We won’t go begging for scraps.

When Syd runs away suddenly and inexplicably in the middle of their senior year, Miranda is abandoned once again, left to untangle the questions of why Syd left, where she is—and if she’s even a friend worth saving. Forced to step out from Syd’s enormous shadow, Miranda finds herself stumbling into first love with the most unlikely boy in school and learning what it means to be truly seen, to be finally not missing in her own life.

“I savored and cherished this funny, tender, poetic novel about yearning, love, loss, ambition, and the big questions of life. When I turned the last page, I felt joy for knowing these characters, and a rare and unique sadness that I’d never again get to read this novel for the first time.” Margo Rabb, author of Cures for Heartbreak

“In her debut novel, Fountain not only delivers a plot twist that resonates in the #MeToo era but also a sweet and convincing love story complete with a charmingly dorky heroine in half-Latina Miranda―who, in Syd’s absence, ultimately finds out who she can be when she’s not following in someone’s wake.” Publishers Weekly

“This thoughtful coming-of-age tale tenderly explores the great pain and power of forging one’s own identity as well as the inescapable influence of loved ones, even those who choose to be lost.” The Horn Book

“Fountain has created something big and essential with Missing. Miranda’s circumstances might be unique, her struggle with the challenges of growing up is universal―which makes Missing a must-read for teenagers and the adults who hope to understand them.” The Austin American-Statesman, Statesman Selects Pick

Instant Winner (2014)

A moving, authentic exploration of spirituality and the domestic from a prize-winning poet

The wry, supple poems in Carrie Fountain’s second collection take the form of prayers and meditations chronicling the existential shifts brought on by parenthood, spiritual searching, and the profound, often beguiling experience of being a self, inside a body, with a soul. Fountain’s voice is at once deep and loose, enacting the dawning of spiritual insight, but without leaving the daily world, matching the feeling of the “pure holiness in motherhood” with the “thuds the giant dumpsters make behind the strip mall when they’re tossed back to the pavement by the trash truck.” In these wise, accessible, deeply emotional poems, she captures a contemporary longing for spiritual meaning that’s wary of prepackaged wisdom—a longing answered most fully by attending to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

"The poems in Instant Winner spark and flare off the page."   The Rumpus

"Instant Winner captures the complexities of motherhood and life and present them with reverence, as gifts."   Brain, Child Magazine

"Each poem reflects a rediscovery of vulnerability and the purity of new life."    Publishers Weekly

Burn Lake (2010)

Winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series Award

With grace and a keen attention to the implications of history, the poems in Burn Lake grapple with what it means to be tied to a place, knowing that our own losses are not only what is taken from us, but also what we take from others. “A road is the crudest faith in things to come,” Fountain writes, suggesting the palpable longing that winds through these poems.    Natasha Trethewey

I sat down to take a quick look at Carrie Fountain’s book and suddenly an hour had passed. Then I noticed I’d dog-eared almost every page I’d read. I’m stunned by the power of these poems. Here’s all the real trouble we’re in: death and time and pain – held in a clear crisp collection that seems made of joy. More than a dozen times I laughed out loud. How is this possible? Burn Lake is a miracle.     Marie Howe