“Something that melts can also burn,” writes Dean Rader in “Frost on Fire”:
like a
Thicket of ice in the pond, the cold net
Of stars, even the hard white ax of the
Heart.
Like all great literature, these snowy stories and poems invite us to open our hearts to complex and unexpected truths. And what better time to burrow deep than winter—a season of hibernation, regeneration, and beginning anew. We hope you’ll grab a mug of your favorite warm beverage and cozy up with these memorable winter reads.
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Dean Rader
Frost on Fire and Other Poems
Something that melts can also burn.
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Arthur Sze
Lichen Song
Snow in the air you’ve seen a crust on the ceiling wood
2019 National Book Award for Poetry -
Morgan Talty
Burn
2021 Narrative Prize Winner
When I passed the frozen swamp a voice moaned out. -
Karisma Price
An Elegy Beginning and Ending with a Mouse
I was nine when it first snowed in New Orleans.
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Bridget Quinn
Pilots
A skier’s mettle was measured by the length of his skis.
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Leila Chatti
Not All of Us Get to Be Ghosts
I watch the tiny fire at her mouth.
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Austin Smith
The Halverson Brothers
2014 Narrative Prize Winner
We’ve tried, but it seems it is in the stars for us to hate each other.