Unwoven
Poems of Form and Release

Sept 2024

The first publication from Waywords Studio,

poetry exploring structure, memory,

and uncertainty. . . 

Unwoven cover image

…. A masterful collection that blends the craft of structured poetry with the liberty of free-form verse, … a meditation that is both moving and insightful, and Chisnell’s vivid imagery and empathetic voice infuse each poem with a sense of immediacy and relevance.

Melanie Barbaza

A beautiful invocation and experiment in form that is seen not just at the end, but in media res, seeing dual (or triple) poems in the same idea, . . . all with lyrical grace and with an attention to those who struggle to “study more” the wisdom in poetry. Bravo!

Noah Blacker

I have never seen anything like this - and every poem leaves you chewing on different metaphors long after you read them. Poetry enthusiasts will delight in this, and poetry/literature teachers will find it incredibly helpful for teaching the meaning of various styles of poetry.  

Jessica Manuel

Book Oblivion

Unwoven poetry book white cover product image

What difference in a little poetic structure?

Across 17 forms of poetry–from ballad and sonnet to ghazal and ZaniLa Rhyme–this premiere book juxtaposes similar poems in traditional styles and free verse. Along the way, speakers find their lives torn, unraveled, or dangling as they wrestle with aging, memory, love, myth, and the promise of language. A layered and provocative collection rich in irony and meanings found not merely in words but in the patterns beneath them, not merely in verse but in the spaces between.

The book includes an extensive section of author notes. More extensive materials for classroom students and teachers are also available. 

Available in print, eBook, and soon audiobook formats.

A Poetry Chapbook

Unwoven juxtaposes original poetry of formal verse to the same poems redeveloped as free verse, raising questions of the purpose and meaning of structure.

With more than 30 works across a variety of forms, Unwoven explores questions of memory, aging, loss, and fragility as it wrestles through relationships and isolation.

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Educational Supplements

Interested learners and teachers find additional multi-media materials of talking points, guides on forms and analysis, questions for reflection, and samples of master poets, all to recognize not only the historical value of formal verse, but how to analyze its form to discover new meaning. Free verse, too, reveals ways of understanding when contrasted to older formal forms.

Online Course

As an online course in Poetic Structure and Analysis, Unwoven becomes one of several texts to more formally guide learners through the reading and discovery of verse. Geared primarily for pre-university and undergraduate students, learners will practice thesis writing and annotation strategies, all through audio and video, with opportunities for experimentation and reflection.

Prefer to find the book elsewhere? It’s available everywhere, but
here are a few important vendors I recommend:

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