Things That Are
From the cosmic to the quotidian, this debut collection of essays by Amy Leach asks us to reconsider our kinship with the wild world.
Things That Are takes jellyfish, fainting goats, and imperturbable caterpillars as just a few of its many inspirations. Surveying both the tiniest earth dwellers and the most far-flung celestial bodies—considering the similarity of gods to donkeys, the inexorability of love and vines, the relations of exploding stars to exploding sea cucumbers—Leach rekindles a vital communion with the wild world, dormant for far too long. These are essays that leap from the animal to the human to the phenomenal, and somehow transcend all three, yielding “words of wisdom” (New York Times) to carry with us.
Reminiscent of the work of Ander Monson, John D’Agata, and Eula Biss—yet truly a new species of its own--Things That Are is a book of wonder, one the reader cannot help but leave with their perceptions expanded and confounded in delightful ways.
208 pages / Milkweed Editions
